Forever Season 2
by KatherineAliceBeckettCullen
Summary: Dr. Henry Morgan tells Detective Jo Martinez his secret. Will she believe him? And if she does, what happens next? Starts right where Season 1 ended. (The show may have been cancelled, but this is my take on what could have happened during Season 2.) Rated M, mostly for violence. Now complete. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I wasn't expecting it to take so long for me to start publishing my take on Season 2, but life got in the way and this was postponed. So, without further ado, here is my take on what could have happened in Forever season 2. For those of you who have read my Castle and CSI stories, you know that I like to structure character stories around cases, and this story will follow that format as well. As always, I have a broad idea of where this story will go, but I'm open to case/story ideas if you guys want to share them with me. Don't be afraid to leave an idea in the comments or PM!**

 **I'm starting this story right where season 1 left off, so the last scene of the episode is shown and then I take it from there. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1

Dr. Henry Morgan had gotten tired of waiting for Abraham to make his move and his thoughts drifted to Abigail. She had found out about his secret when he'd died in her arms and then snuck in to say goodbye to the infant Abraham before starting his life over yet again. She'd come into the room before he could leave and he'd tried to talk his way out of her astonishment, but she was far smarter than he'd thought. Abigail had needed no fabricated explanations. She just pulled him into her arms and whispered "Poor man." From then on, they'd been nearly inseparable for forty years. It was her acceptance of his curse that had made life with her so wonderful.

Henry had risen and stood holding her black and white portrait when Abe finally made his move. "Hey, Methuselah. Your move." Henry turned to face his son. "Not all of us can live forever."

"Apologies, Abraham." Henry took one last look, set the picture down, and returned to the chess game. "Right. Where were we?" He looked over the board and then moved his chosen piece. He didn't let go right away though. No, there had been enough games where he'd almost lost because of a careless move. He kept his finger on the piece, carefully looking around the board to make sure his move hadn't opened up a way for Abe to checkmate him or take his piece.

A knock on the door drew his attention. The sign hanging on the door said closed, but the woman on the other side of the glass wasn't likely to be a customer. Detective Jo Martinez was standing outside looking in. She waved when she saw him looking at her and Henry straightened up, striding to the door to let her in. He couldn't help but smile when he saw her, despite the way things had been between them when they had parted last. Somehow she just had that effect on him.

He unlocked the door and opened it. "Hello, Detective. Do you have a new mystery for me to solve?"

"Yeah, I think, uh, you could say that." She reached into her pocket and held his pocket watch out to him.

He sighed and looked at her in gratitude. "Thank goodness." He laughed, a quick lie forming in his brain to explain how she'd found it. "It was just stolen. I was about to file a police report, and… well, here you are."

She was not convinced. "You know, I figured you'd say that. I… also found this." Jo held up the photograph Adam had held up when they were down in the ghost subway station. In the photograph, a smiling Henry stood beside a smiling Abigail, who was holding a young Abraham. Henry's smile faltered. The sepia photograph was clearly old, which was why Jo was asking about it. "I was hoping you could explain it to me."

Henry couldn't tear his eyes from the photograph. It had been in Abigail's possession when she'd killed herself to protect her husband and son. Adam had taken it from her and used it to eventually track Henry down. Now Jo was handing the worn picture to him and was full of questions on how such an old photo could contain the same Henry Morgan she'd known for a year. Henry was thinking of various excuses on how it was possible, but nothing came out of his mouth. He was torn. Jo was his friend, his partner. She had earned his trust and should know the truth, but his memories of what the first woman he'd told had done to him made him pause.

Abraham had come up behind Henry during the exchange. "Tell her."

Henry looked at Abe and he realized that the choice really was clear. Jo had stood beside him and supported him in even his most crazy theories. If anyone deserved to know the truth, it was the woman who had come to him for this explanation. He looked at the photograph again, remembering the woman who had believed him and stood by him too. Jo and Abigail had much in common.

He looked the detective in her eyes. "It's a long story." He stepped out of the doorway. "Will you come in?" Jo nodded and stepped inside. Henry locked the door behind her and they went up to the living room. He was unsure where to begin.

Jo cleared her throat. "Before you begin, I want you to know that I don't want to hear any more lies. I'm your friend, Henry. After everything we've been through, I deserve the truth."

"Yes, you do. I'm just trying to figure out how to begin." He gestured to the sofa and Jo sat. Henry took a seat in his armchair. "I guess at the beginning. I'm going to tell you some things that may seem impossible at first, and I would appreciate it if you would keep an open mind."

"Henry, what are you so afraid of? Why insist that I keep an open mind?"

"Because the first person I told my story to... had me sent to a sanitarium."

Jo leaned into the couch. "That's… not in your file."

Henry nodded. "Well, it wouldn't be. This was many lifetimes ago. Back in 1815."

Jo cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

Henry held up his hands. "Please. Keep an open mind. I will explain everything."

"Okay."

"I was born on the nineteenth of September in 1779. I died for the first time on the seventh of April in 1814 while on board a slaving ship called the Empress of Africa."

Jo sighed. "Henry…"

"Jo, you said you wanted the truth. I promise you, I'm not making this up. The scar on my chest is from that night on the Empress of Africa. It is the only scar that stays with me. You see, I can't die. I can be killed; I've been killed a great many times. But I always come back. The public indecency charges are not me sleepwalking as I told the lieutenant. That is how I come back to life."

"I don't understand."

Henry paused. "Every time I die, I always return in water. And I'm always… naked. So when I'm arrested, it's because I wasn't able to hide before I was seen by the police. As I was saying, I died for the first time in 1814. When I was finally able to return home, my wife at the time, Nora, had been told that I'd fallen overboard and most likely perished. At first, she was very relieved that I was alive. She was the first I told. After all, she was my wife."

"But she didn't believe you."

Henry shook his head. "I told her what had happened on that ship and offered to prove it to her by slitting my wrists. She told me she believed me before I could do so, and a few days later, I was taken to the sanitarium in a strait jacket. I was later sent to prison. To escape, I hung myself."

Jo was stunned. "You hung yourself?"

"It was the only way I could escape without being seen."

Jo nodded and paused to process what she'd heard so far. "Did you ever see Nora again?"

"Fifty years later, yes. She saw my picture in the paper after I saved a young boy from a fire. That picture convinced her that I had not lied to her after all. When she came to the hospital I worked at, I sent her away. I was courting a nurse I worked with at the time and she was confused why a woman in her seventies would be claiming to be my wife. I said she must be confused. When I denied Nora's claims, my superiors wanted to send her to an asylum; they assumed she had gone mad. I didn't agree with them."

Jo looked confused. "What did you do?"

"Well, she had rejected me fifty years earlier and I couldn't accept her back into my life after a betrayal like that. I had rebuilt a life for myself; I was romantically involved with someone. But she was still my wife, and I did still love her, so I sent her home to rest. She couldn't let me just ignore her and decided to prove I was immortal in front of a crowd. The nurse I cared for, she threw herself in front of me and was killed. Nora was taken to a sanitarium then. She died in there." Henry frowned, and then smiled as a more pleasant memory came to mind. "I met Abigail during World War Two while we were treating soldiers and the people recovered from a hastily abandoned concentration camp."

Jo looked down at her hands. "So, if I understand this correctly, you are immortal and that started two hundred years ago. You've been married twice, one sent you to an asylum and the other believed you. People can kill you, but you don't die." Jo was quiet for a long time. "How is that even possible?"

"I don't know how, exactly. Or why. What I do know is that I'm not the only one. There is one other that I know of. He calls himself Adam, though I would imagine that wasn't his original name. The photograph you found by my watch was in his possession. That photograph was taken in 1946, just after the war. That is me, my wife Abigail, and our adopted son Abraham."

"Wait, Abraham? As in…"

"Me." Abe had come upstairs. "I know we told you that Henry's father and I were business partners many years ago, but we've gotten pretty good at the whole lying thing by now. Most people wouldn't understand."

"Abigail and I met at the temporary hospital my unit had put together; that's where Abraham was left in our care. We raised him as our own, and he has been with me ever since."

"So the body we found a couple weeks ago," Jo turned back to Henry, "the one you would only refer to as Abraham's mother; that was Abigail? The wife who believed you, but then left you?"

"She left because our ages appeared to be so different. At the time, she was 65 and I looked no older than the day we first met; no older than I do now. She felt that people would talk or mistake her for my mother. That did happen once. It was hard on her and she left a couple years later to avoid the gossip." Henry stopped and took a deep breath. "While investigating Abigail's murder, we discovered a motorcyclist had been hit by a future federal judge, a girl who was murdered by her law enforcement boyfriend and then buried in a garden, and the nurse who attended to both of them had gone missing."

Jo nodded. "Right."

"Adam was the motorcyclist who was hit and 'died' at the hospital. He asked the attending nurse, Abigail, to kill him so he could be reborn in a healed body. She believed him because she'd known me. He killed himself when she ignored his request and then he tracked her down. She drove off the road to try and kill him. He survived the crash, so when he revived her, she killed herself so he wouldn't be able to find me."

"But he still did."

"Thirty years later, yes. Now he is trapped inside his own body. Down in that train station, after he'd shot me, I used an empty syringe to cause an air embolism in his brain stem."

Jo was shocked. "Why would you do that?"

"It was the only way to stop him. You couldn't arrest him because he would only have to kill himself to escape, as I did all those years ago. The only way to make sure he couldn't do anything to me, or anyone I cared about, was to trap him in his own body. He can no longer use his body, which means he can't kill himself to heal, and he can't speak, so he won't be able to convince someone else to do it for him." Henry was watching Jo's face. "Do you believe me?"

"I'm not sure yet. Why was this 'Adam' after you?"

"He had a theory that the only weapon that could kill you permanently was the one that killed you the first time. That's why he wanted to find me. He wanted to test his theory, but not on himself. Finding me gave him a lab rat to experiment with. Down on that platform, he shot me with the same gun that had killed me on the Empress of Africa." Henry gestured to himself. "Obviously his theory didn't work. I'm still here. But I couldn't let him hurt anyone I cared about if I did die. Killing him with the dagger might not stop him, but trapping his mind in a body that couldn't do what he wanted, that just might."

Jo shook her head. "I'm not sure I can believe this."

"Which part?"

"All of it! This is impossible! People don't die and come back to life like that."

Abraham looked at Henry. "Do we need to show her, Pops?"

Henry shook his head. "I'd really rather not. At least, not when it's day out."

"Tonight then." Abraham pushed off the wall with his shoulder. "I'm gonna get dinner in the oven. Will you be staying for that, Jo?"

Jo looked at Henry. "I think I need some time to process this."

Henry nodded. "Of course. But I must ask that you keep my story a secret. Most won't believe me or you; others would want to experiment on me." Jo's eyes widened in surprise and Henry pulled an uncomfortable face. "Trust me, I've been there. I've been dissected will still alive. It's not a very pleasant experience and one I would rather not repeat. Please?"

Jo nodded. "Yeah. I'll keep this to myself. I'm still not sure I believe it, but I'll keep your secret. For now."

"Thank you, Jo. I know I'm asking a lot from you."

* * *

Jo climbed into her department issued vehicle and just sat there, processing everything Henry had just told her. She'd expected him to start answering her questions with more lies or half-truths. But to say that he couldn't be killed no matter how many times people had tried? That was bordering on the insane. The man Henry had killed in self-defense believed that delusion. There was no way that Henry could really be immortal.

But there were inconsistencies in Henry's behavior. One of the first cases they worked on together, Henry had confronted the killer alone without any fear. Moments later, when his life was being threatened and in full view of the cops, he was practically screaming for them to shoot the suspect. Jo glanced back toward the antique shop. Had Henry been more scared of them finding out his secret and not death itself? He'd stepped in front of several cars and was willing to take a bullet for her in other cases, not to mention the time she could have sworn she saw him tackle a suspect off the roof at Grand Central Station after she'd been shot. She had claimed he didn't have a self-preservation instinct and maybe this was why. You didn't need one if you really couldn't die.

Jo jumped as her phone rang. "Martinez."

It was Hanson. " _You okay, Jo?_ "

"Yeah, no, I'm fine. I was just thinking... about Sean... and the phone startled me."

" _Oh. Well, we got a body. I'll text you the address. We might need Henry, if the two of you have gotten over... whatever it was that was going on_."

"I'll let him know. See you soon." She hung up and her phone chimed a moment later with the texted address.

Henry was back at his chess game with Abe when she reached the door again. He turned when she knocked and quickly opened the door again. "More questions?"

"Not at the moment. Uh, we've got a body. Interested?"

"Of course." Henry retrieved his coat from the rack beside the door. "I'm not sure when I'll be home, Abe. Let's pick up this game tomorrow."

"No problem. I'll try to keep a plate warm for you."

"Shall we, Detective?"

Jo nodded. "I'm parked down the block a little."

"After you."

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 **A/N: I will be posting a new chapter every week, just like I normally do with my other story. Stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl KenH/Ken_the_Trog and superlc529** **for their reviews. Ken: I felt he had to go with an abbreviation of his history to get the facts out and not overwhelm her at the same time. I figured that they would get into greater detail as time went on instead of have his entire history laid out right at the start. This chapter starts right after the last one ended. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 2

Henry climbed into the car and Jo pulled away from the curb. She was quiet. She was probably still mulling things over in her mind, so Henry let her think. What he'd told her was hard to accept. It would take some time before she could believe him. Until she did, things were going to be tense between them. Henry would do his best not to push her though. He would act like the tension was entirely his fault and that he was trying to rectify the problem. Hopefully Jo was able to play along.

"Did you really go to Oxford?"

Henry nodded. "Yes. The first time I went to medical school. That was before I died in 1814."

Jo was quiet for a minute. "You say you died on board the Empress of Africa. Did you support the slave trade?"

"Far from it. The Morgan family had made our fortune in the shipping business, but my father had always spoken against the slave trade; refused to be engaged in it. Times became tough, however. He mortgaged everything he owned to save the business, but that wasn't enough to restore the wealth we'd had before and he compromised his personal morals to pay his debts."

"Why were you on that slave ship then? If you were against it, I mean."

"I was getting to that. For a while, I had no idea my father had changed his business practice. When I did find out, I swore to him I would end the Morgan involvement in the trade. The Empress was the last ship involved in the transport of Africans to the slave markets. I was on board the Empress to help the slaves escape the life that awaited them in the New World."

Jo's brow wrinkled. "But the ship sank."

"Not before the slaves were able to escape. For years, I did believe I'd failed. Then I got to speak with Isaac. It turns out that I did manage to get the key to the slaves."

"What key?"

"The key to their shackles and cells. I'd stolen it and was in the process of taking it to the slaves when the crew had me examine one who was ill. When I tried to prevent them from killing him because of his illness, I was shot." Henry tapped his chest. "That's how I got this scar. The crew carried me off the ship through the slave quarters and I must have dropped the key without the crew noticing."

"Isaac told you this?"

"In a way. I remembered up to the point where I got shot; he told me what happened after that point. It was a story that was handed down from his ancestors who were on the ship, as was the map he'd used to find the Empress. The slaves took over the ship and sailed it north until the damage to the ship caused it to sink. Fortunately, by that point they were in free territory."

Jo shook her head. "I'll give you this. You certainly include a lot of detail in your stories."

"I promise you, I'm not making this up. You'll see."

"Tonight, you mean?"

"I would never force you to watch me die, Jo. I couldn't do that to you. Abe is just tired of carrying the secret alone. He's known since he was twelve. When Abigail was with us, it was easier on him. But Abigail left us thirty years ago. Besides me, he's been alone ever since."

"He's been married," Jo glance at Henry, "hasn't he?"

"Yes, but he's never told his relationships about me or my condition. Recently, I was supposed to meet the woman who had been his wife twice. My kidnapping at the hands of Professor Daws' stalker prevented that. Apparently, Abe's ex thought I was his son."

"Why would you never meet Abe's relationships?"

"If they had meet me, as time got on they would have a lot of questions. It was better never to meet them so they couldn't ask any. Also, if I never got too attached to people, it would be a lot easier for me to leave when someone got too close to discovering my secret."

Jo pulled into a spot near the crime scene. "Have you thought about leaving since you met me?"

"Several times. Mostly because of Adam." Henry exited the car. "I stayed to protect the people I care about. You especially."

That took Jo by surprise. "Why me especially?"

They fell into step with each other. "He implied my leaving would have dire consequences to those closest to me. Abe was protected because he and Adam both survived the Holocaust, but everyone else was fair game. And if I were completely honest, besides Abe, I would have to say I'm closest to you."

"Thanks, I guess. I'm still not sure I believe you."

"As is your right." He turned to Jo's partner as they approached. "Detective Hanson, you're looking well."

"Thanks." He looked at Jo with a question in his eye. She cocked one eyebrow and shrugged. "Uh, no ID. The victim was found by a woman walking her dog through that alley. It looks like a mugging, but my gut says it wasn't. We found his wallet. No cards or driver's license, but the money was still there."

Henry nodded. "Let's take a look."

Hanson stayed back a bit with Jo. "Are you two good?"

"We'll see."

"No blood pooling. Says he wasn't killed here." Henry crouched next to the body. "Southern European ancestry judging by his coloring and hair type. His name may have an Italian or Croatian surname. His nose and eye shape indicate Italy as the more likely country."

Hanson shook his head. "How…?"

Henry kept going. "The scar above his eye along with his apparent age suggests he had a moderate childhood injury. Car crash or fight perhaps." He noticed the detectives' confusion. "The color of the scar. It blends with his skin except for the raised nature. Probably occurred fifteen or more years ago."

Hanson looked impressed. "What else you got?"

"He was probably a craftsman." Henry held up the victim's hands. "Note the contact and thermal burns. My guess is he worked with glass or metal." Henry waved his hand over the victim and took a sniff. "From the smell coming off his clothes, I'm leaning more toward metal."

Hanson pulled out his phone. "I'll start looking in Missing Persons."

Henry turned his attention to the wound. "Those are odd powder burns around this wound."

Jo leaned in for a look. "What made them?"

"I have no idea."

* * *

Lucas took care of transporting the body to the morgue and getting it set up on the table. Henry came in not long after that was done and changed into his autopsy clothes. He grabbed his tools and set them up to begin. The first step was a more detailed physical exam. Henry moved his eyes systemically over the victim. Anything that stood out was photographed by Lucas.

With the victim photographed, the two worked on taking the clothes off the victim's body. They started by emptying the pockets and documenting the contents. The coat came off first and Henry noticed adhesive residue on the shirt sleeves. The victim was restrained at some point before he was killed. Lucas was bundling the coat to put it in an evidence bag, so Henry grabbed the camera and photographed the adhesive residue on the sleeves. Lucas paused in bundling the coat. He un-bunched the coat and re-crumpled it a couple times.

Henry noticed and stood up straight. "Lucas, is there a problem?"

"The coat is making a crinkly sound. I think there's something in it still."

"Well then, let's find out, shall we?"

The neighboring autopsy table was empty at the moment, so they spread the victims coat out on it. Henry checked all the pockets again, but found nothing in them. He then ran his hands over the inside lining. Along the back, he found a spot that felt like a piece of paper or two was just beneath the surface. Henry leaned in for a closer look and noticed the seam across the inside back of the coat was actually concealing the top of a pocket.

"Here it is." Henry stuck his hand just inside the pocket. "Take a picture of that."

Lucas snapped the picture and Henry pulled out the pages as Jo came in. "You guys found something?"

"Yes." Henry was looking at the photos he'd extracted from the hidden pocket. "This is exquisite."

Lucas took a look. "It's a cross."

"A very old cross. I've seen it before."

Jo cocked an eyebrow. "You have?"

Henry paused and looked up. "Yes. Abe took me to a museum about six months ago. They had an exhibit of Eastern Orthodox relics on display. It was on loan from the State Historical Museum in Moscow. Five months ago, a few of the relics went missing. This cross was one of them."

Jo nodded. "I remember that. Someone snuck in while the pieces were being packed up to be sent back to Russia. Stole several small items. Major Crimes is trying to recover the pieces."

"I read about the theft in the paper. Abe has been keeping an eye out for the pieces in case someone tries to sell him one."

"Have any come in?"

Henry shook his head. "Not yet. Abe has also been in contact with a few of his antiquities friends. Nothing from them, either."

Jo turned to the victim. "What can you tell me about John Doe?"

"We're still in the process of removing his clothing. I did find adhesive residue on the forearms of his shirt."

"So he was restrained at some point. Are these the contents of his pockets?"

Henry nodded. "Yes, minus the photos from the hidden pocket."

"Hidden pocket?"

Lucas stuck his hand in it. "Henry found it after I told him something with crinkling in the coat."

Jo smirked. "I see." She looked at the tray of items. "Nothing here to give us his name."

"I found him." Detective Hanson walked in. "Our victim's name is Ezio Crocetti. That metalworking craftsman thing helped a lot, Doc."

"Always glad to be of assistance."

"His wife reported him missing this morning when she realized he didn't come home last night. She's on her way in now."

Jo nodded. "We should talk to her. Coming, Henry?"

"I think I will stay here, actually. You need more information on what killed Mr. Crocetti and I still don't know. I'll finish the autopsy and get back to you."

"Okay."

"I'll be right there, Jo." Hanson went over to Henry. "Can I talk to you real quick?"

"Certainly. Let's go in my office. Lucas, can you finish removing the victim's clothes?"

"You got it, boss."

Henry opened the door to his office. "How can I help, Detective?"

"You and Jo. What's going on between you guys?"

"You're referring to the tension. I'm afraid it was my fault. I was distracted during the course of the last investigation and didn't give it my best effort."

Hanson shook his head. "That's not it, Doc."

"No, not all of it, but it was the beginning. I was distracted and it made it seem like I was deliberately sabotaging the investigation. You don't need to worry about it. This is my fault and I'm working on making amends."

"That's it?"

Henry nodded. "Yes. I can fix my relationship with her. It'll take some time, but I'm willing to put in that effort."

Hanson nodded. "Okay. I hope you do. Working with the two of you like this isn't much fun."

"Understood. We may still be a little rocky, but I think things are already improving."

"Yeah, I guess." Hanson headed to the door. "Don't mess this up. I may not always say this, but I enjoy working with you."

"And I with you." Henry held open the door. "I'll try to get the COD to you as soon as possible."

"Thanks."

Hanson went to the elevator and Henry returned to the autopsy table. "Where were we?"

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 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, superlc529 and maxiefae for their reviews.** **superlc529: Writing the assessment of the victim was so fun. maxiefae: I'm not sure when I'll let other characters in on the secret, but I am planning on it.** **This chapter starts in Jo's perspective. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3

The victim's wife arrived half an hour after Hanson returned to the bullpen. Jo led her into the interrogation room and offered to get her something to drink. Water was requested and Hanson quickly fetched that for her while Mrs. Crocetti sat down, a hollow look in her eyes. Jo recognized that look. It was the one she'd had after her husband had passed away. A look she'd been unable to fully banish until Henry had come into her life.

"Mrs. Crocetti, I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. I just can't believe he's gone. We've only been married a few months."

Henson set the water in front of the wife. "How did you two meet, Mrs. Crocetti?"

"Elise, please. I was a waitress at a diner. He came in a lot, and we'd talk. Then he asked me out and eventually we got married."

"Did he normally not come home at night?"

Elise shook her head. "He'd work late sometimes. He didn't like to keep a nine-to-five schedule. He worked his own hours. So, yeah, he'd work late. But he always came home."

"What did he usually do for work?" Hanson took a seat himself. "We know he was a craftsman and worked with metal."

"He made sculptures and custom pieces. His favorite thing to do though was restoration work. He loved to replicate things for historical sites that needed repairs." Elise smiled sadly. "He'd just finished a piece for an old house in Boston."

"What was the piece?"

"An iron banister for a set of stairs. It was beautiful. The old one had started to fall apart and was rusted. Ezio was so proud of it." She pulled out her phone. "I have a picture."

Elise pulled up the photo and slid the phone across the table to the detectives. The victim was standing behind a table with a stair railing on the surface. It was a wrought iron piece with intricate details. Ezio was smiling at the camera, the pride of accomplishing such a task evident in his eyes.

"May we get a copy of this photo?"

"Sure."

Jo sent the photo to her phone. "Thank you. How long ago was this completed?"

"A couple weeks?"

"Was he working on a project that involved a cross?"

Elise looked confused. "A cross? Not that I know of."

Jo displayed the photos from Ezio's hidden pocket. "We found these in a hidden pocket on his jacket."

"You're wrong. We don't have secrets. A hidden pocket doesn't make sense."

"Elise, I've seen the pocket. These pictures were in that pocket." Jo leaned forward. "You had no idea about this?"

"No. No, this makes no sense. He doesn't hide things from me."

Hanson leaned back in his chair. "We believe the cross was in his possession. Where might he hide it?"

"I don't know." Elise stood up and went to the window. "That's the cross that was stolen from the museum." She turned back to the detective. "You think he stole it." There wasn't a question in her eyes.

Jo stood and walked toward Elise. "I don't. I think he was hired or forced to make a replica. When he hid it from the man who wanted it, he was killed. I'm trying to find the cross and the man who killed your husband."

Elise nodded. "You want to search my house."

"And his workplace." Hanson took his notepad out of his coat pocket. "Please."

Elise gave them the addresses. "Just don't make a mess. I'm the one who's going to have to clean it up."

"You can watch us search if you like." Jo gestured to the door. "We'll take you home."

* * *

The pictures of the cross had been returned to the morgue to be logged into evidence with the rest of the victim's possession. Henry had taken them into his office and was looking at them. It had been a long time since he had seen the cross. The first time had been in 1860 in Russia at the Church of Saint Ambrose of Milan.

 ** _Moscow, Russia 1860..._**

 _Henry left the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University's medical wing and pulled his coat a little tighter around him. This was the first time he'd been in Russia and he was here to teach general pathology in medicine. This university was the best medical school in Russia, but it was also very new, so their curriculum was a little behind many of the medical schools in Europe. The faculty had reached out to request two doctors from one of the best hospitals in England to come over and teach a seminar or two on the various medical discoveries of European medicine._

 _One of the attendees came outside. "What is your view on God, Dr. Morgan?"_

 _Henry thought about it. "I was raised in the Church of England. My views, however, are a bit unsure. I'm told there's a God, and I believe there must be one. I just don't believe anything specific."_

" _You should come to a Liturgy. There's one tonight in about half an hour. We should arrive in plenty of time."_

" _My Russian isn't very good."_

" _I will translate for you."_

" _Very well. I shall accompany you."_

 _The walk to the cathedral was chilly, but Henry didn't mind. His companion was talkative, asking many questions about medicine and Henry's life at home as well as telling Henry about his own upbringing. Henry kept his answers as vague as possible. He said where he was raised, but not when and he tried not to reference too many things about his upbringing that were far too time specific. It might tell his companion too much about himself._

 _They arrived at the Cathedral just after the time Liturgy was posted to start. Dr. Vladimir Chekov led them to their places and they settled in. After the service, Dr. Chekhov walked with Henry to the door. "What did you think?"_

" _Enlightening. I have a better understanding of your beliefs. I will admit, however, that I don't find that much pomp and circumstance in a religious service to be particularly respectful toward God."_

" _Dr. Morgan, you misunderstand. Everything in the Liturgy is symbolic. Everything has meaning. The priests are not merely trying to demonstrate their piety." Dr. Chekhov smiled. "Perhaps if you come next week, you will begin to understand more."_

" _Perhaps. I actually think I will stay here for a bit. If I get a chance, I would like to talk to a priest about your doctrine."_

" _An excellent idea." Dr. Chekhov shook Henry's hand. "Until tomorrow, Dr. Morgan."_

" _Tomorrow, Dr. Chekhov." Henry meandered towards the center of the cathedral. People were milling about everywhere, kissing the icons and talking to each other. Perhaps there was something to this system of beliefs. It appeared to Henry that while the basics of worship were the same for everyone, there wasn't one way to worship. Some would sign the cross more often, others would kiss and then cross, still others would cross and then kiss._

 _A priest noticed Henry. "Привет, незнакомец. (Privet, neznakomets.)"_

" _I'm afraid I'm not fluent in Russian, father."_

 _The priest smiled. "You must be Dr. Chekhov's English friend." The priest's accent was very thick. "He told me he would be trying to get someone to come to church with him."_

" _Here I am." Henry looked around. "This is a beautiful building."_

" _Thank you." They talked for several minutes about the basic beliefs of the Eastern Orthodox faith and how it differed from Catholicism. As they talked, they walked around the room and the priest would point out different things while telling Henry what they represented. An intricate cross near the altar drew Henry's attention._

 _The priest noticed. "Ah, yes. This was made by Vladimir Kuznetsov when he converted to this religion. He wanted to honor God by creating a beautiful representation of the sacrifice Christ willingly made for us."_

" _It's exquisite. All of the details. I've never seen anything like it."_

 **Present...**

The phone rang, breaking Henry out of his revere. He quickly picked up. "Hello?"

" _It's me_."

"Jo. How can I help?"

" _Do you have anything more for me?_ "

"You know I don't discuss things like this over the phone." Henry looked out at the morgue. "Lucas is running some tests at the moment. It may take a little time."

" _Well, I've got something. You have a pen?_ "

Henry grabbed one from the desk. "Yes."

Jo rattled off an address. " _Meet me here_."

"What's going on?"

" _You'll see_."

Henry grabbed the slip of paper he'd written the address on. "Lucas."

"Yeah."

"Jo's got something for me. Call her when the results come back."

"You really need to get a cell phone, man."

Henry hailed a cab and arrived at the address in good time. He paid the cab driver and got out. Jo was at the front door giving more instructions to the uniforms who had just arrived. Henry looked around at the street. Nothing stood out as not belonging, but something must have happened. He made his way to the door and Jo acknowledge him before sending the uniforms out to fulfill their assignments.

"This way." Jo led the way to the basement apartment. "It's been tossed."

Henry walked inside. "Someone searching for the cross?"

"That would be my guess."

Henry looked around the room. "They didn't find it."

Jo followed Henry inside. "I know. Everything has been searched. I was hoping you might be able to help us with who."

"The culprit is left handed." Henry pointed to a linens drawer. "Everything was pulled out, but more items went to the left. He's also not tall enough to reach the high shelves without assistance."

"How..."

"That chair." Henry pointed. "There's a faint dirt footprint on it. Mr. and Mrs. Crocetti don't wear their shoes in the house. They put them in the rack by the door. This shoeprint doesn't belong to any of those shoes."

"Anything else?"

Henry walked into the kitchen area. "I'm not sure yet."

"This doesn't seem like an area the victim would frequent. This is more of the wife's domain."

"So why was it searched the most?"

Jo turned to Henry. "Maybe because this is the last place the victim should hide it?"

"I think you may be right." Henry opened the fridge and closed it again. "They even searched in there."

"But they left the food inside?"

"Not sure why, but yes." Henry returned to the living room. "Was there any sign of forced entry?"

"The lock on the front door was bumped."

"They used a bump key. Quick and efficient; if you know what you're doing. We're looking for a professional."

Jo nodded. "Tell me you figured out how he was killed."

"I have a theory. Lucas will call when the lab results are in."

"The wife to give us permission to search his workshop. I'm heading there now. Coming?"

"Why not?"

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH and Superlc529 for their reviews. Superlc529: Henry's interaction with the cross in 1860 won't have a huge influence on the case, it's more his interaction with it through time. There is a part of him that feels he needs to protect it because he knows it's history. KenH: Jo is not so much warming up to his tale as she is entertaining his fantasy to see how far he'll take it. In many ways, she's trying to see if he'll slip up on the details.**

 **This chapter starts where the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Henry rode in Jo's car to their victim's workplace. Hanson and a couple uniforms came along as well, bringing their own vehicles. On the way, Jo told Henry about taking Mrs. Crocetti home and how they found the door partially open when they walked up to the apartment. Mrs. Crocetti had been in shock when she saw what had happened in the hour or so she's been gone. Henry called Lucas to see how the tests were coming and was told they were almost done.

Jo put her phone back in her pocket. "So why don't you have a cell phone?"

"As you can imagine for someone like myself, technology has come quite a long way. Especially in the last 50 years. And, unfortunately, that technology can become very costly when you have to replace it every time you die."

"You would have to replace parts of your wardrobe every time. You also have to update your wardrobe as the years pass."

Henry smiled. "Yes on both counts, but some things never really go out of style, at least for men. My tailor is also willing to give discounts to his best customers. Cellular phones, however, are not cheap to buy, and then you have to pay for the plan. If you get one of those... unlimited plans, you have to get the higher end phone. In the long run, it's just not worth it to me."

Jo smiled. "Makes sense. But, you know, there are burner phones. Those aren't that expensive."

"Every time I lose one by dying, I'd have to change my number. That might get suspicious after a while."

"I guess." She pulled the car into a space near the shop. "The door's cracked."

"Just like the apartment."

"Stay back." She got out of the car and met up with Hanson. "The door's open like the apartment."

"Someone's already been here. You guys take the back. We got the front. Doc..."

"Already been told."

"Good. Let's go." Hanson took the lead, Jo covering his back.

The detectives disappeared inside the building, Hanson yelling "NYPD" as they did. Henry walked up to the door and looked inside. It was dark inside, but Henry could tell the workshop had been searched as well. A few moments later, all four yelled "clear" and Henry walked inside. Tools were scattered across the floor and at least one table had been knocked over.

"They didn't find it here either, it would seem."

Hanson walked to the center of the room. "I guess not. Who is this guy?"

Jo shrugged. "I'm going to call CSU." While they waited, Henry wandered outside. He looked down the street and noticed a cathedral.

 ** _Vienna, Austria 1903..._**

 _Henry walked out of the medical building of the University of Vienna and looked up the street. It was the same bustling scene he saw every day and he loved it. He walked down the street at the edge of the crowd. This reminded him of the London of his childhood. So did the weather this time of year. Out of seemingly nowhere, the rain began to sprinkle and within a minute, it was falling in sheets. He looked up the street and noticed a cathedral. He hurried to the door and quickly went inside._

 _Inside, Henry took off his hat and coat, hanging them in the coat closet beside the front door. He then walked deeper into the chapel. He hadn't noticed in his hurry to escape the rain, but this cathedral was an Eastern Orthodox Church building. People wandered around, talking amongst themselves. He was reminded of the time he'd gone to a service in Russia. It appeared that things weren't all that different here._

 _Henry enjoyed observing humanity. Being immortal meant that he'd seen a lot over the past ninety years. Architectural achievements and works of art are just some of the things he'd had the pleasure to witness. And this cathedral was no exception. The immigrant populations who had brought this religion with them were not a rich people, yet they had done their best to ensure the building they worshipped in was as beautiful as some of the Catholic ones._

 _Henry neared the altar and noticed a familiar cross. "We meet again."_

 _A priest greeted him. "Привет, незнакомец. (Privet, neznakomets. Hello, stranger.)"_

" _Hello, father. I was just trying to escape the rain. This is a beautiful building. Very impressive."_

" _You are English. Welcome to our house of God. Have you attended a Liturgy before?"_

" _Yes. Many years ago." Henry smiled, remembering his first attendance forty years ago. "I've passed this building many times, but I never knew the faith of this congregation."_

" _Perhaps you should come to Liturgy on Sunday. Remind yourself of our beliefs."_

" _I do believe I might." Henry turned to the cross. "I was admiring the artwork here and noticed this exquisite piece. Might I inquire of its origin?"_

" _It was made by Vladimir Kuznetsov some 300 years ago upon his conversion. For most of its life, it resided at Church of Saint Ambrose of Milan in Moscow, Russia, but it came to us as a gift when this building was completed. We cherish such a magnificent piece gracing our church and blessing the lives of our congregation."_

 **Present...**

"Henry?" Jo had come outside. "Henry?"

"Yes? Oh, sorry. I sometimes lose myself in memories."

"Where was this one?"

"A church in Austria. I was reminded of it by that building there." Henry headed toward the church. "I wonder..."

"Henry." Jo followed the medical examiner. "What is it?"

"This church is Eastern Orthodox, just like the cross. I wonder if the victim hid the cross there."

The two went inside. Fewer people were here than Henry had experienced in the past, but there was a priest up toward the altar. Henry quickly whispered to Jo the proper protocol for interacting with the priest as they made their way towards him. Greetings went smoothly and the priest led them to a place where the group could talk in private.

Jo started the conversation. "We were wondering if you knew Mr. Crocetti." She showed a picture of the victim.

"We met once. A couple weeks ago."

"Did he give you this cross to safeguard?" Henry showed the picture of the cross.

The priest hesitated. "He... He asked me to not say anything. Someone dangerous is looking for it."

Jo had shown the priest her badge earlier, but she made sure it was visible now. "That dangerous person killed him. And now they're going wherever they think that cross might be hidden and ransacking it. If you are in possession of it, we need you to give it to us so we can protect it and return it to the rightful owner."

The priest nodded. "I know it was stolen. Ezio told me a little about what had happened when he left it here."

"He was being forced to make a replica, wasn't he?"

The priest turned to Henry. "Yes. Ezio didn't want to. The man threatened to kill his wife if he refused. Has she been...?"

"No, she's fine." Henry turned to Jo. "I have an idea for how we can catch this guy. We'll need that cross though, Reverend Father."

The priest nodded and pulled it from his pocket. "Here. Please make sure it is returned to the State Historical Museum in Moscow."

"We will." Henry carefully took the cross from the priest. "Thank you for protecting this."

"It was an honor." The priest turned to Jo. "Find the man who stole it. He must be stopped."

"I will. Thanks for your help."

Henry put the cross in his inside coat pocket and followed Jo to the door. He held it open for her and they returned to the car. Hanson was waiting for them. "Where'd you guys go?"

"To that church building. Our victim entrusted the cross to a priest there. We've retrieved it."

Hanson's eyebrows raised and his voice lowered. "You have it?"

Henry patted his coat. "I have it here."

"You need to get that back to the precinct." Hanson glanced back at the workshop. "I'll stay here with the uniforms. You guys head back."

Henry turned to Jo. "Might I use your phone again?"

"Sure." She handed it over. "What's up?"

"I feel as though we are being watched. The cross may be safer in numbers here than with just Jo and myself."

"I think you might be a bit paranoid, Doc."

"He might be right. This workshop makes the second location to be ransacked for it."

A shout was heard inside the workshop. "Detectives!"

The three went inside, Henry on the phone with Lucas. "No, not that. I just need you to come down here with the crime scene technicians. I have an important task for you."

" _Really?_ "

"Yes, really. As quick as you can."

Hanson spoke to the uniform. "What is it?"

Henry hung up the phone and noticed what the uniform was holding in a gloved hand. "Ezio was making a replica." He gloved up. "May I?"

The uniform handed it over. "Sure."

"He was good. This metalwork is beautiful." Henry looked at Jo. "We can use this as a decoy."

Jo took an evidence bag out of her pocket. "What are you thinking?"

"I called Lucas. He's coming with the crime scene technicians. I would like the cross to return to the precinct with him in the crime scene van. I'll hold onto the decoy, just in case." Henry slipped the real cross in the evidence bag Jo was holding out toward him.

Jo sealed the bag. "Sure."

Hanson flashed a thumbs up at Henry behind Jo's back. Henry shook his head. Jo handed the bagged cross to Henry and looked at him quizzically. He smiled and said, "I'll tell you later."

Eventually the crime scene crew came in, and Lucas headed right over to Henry. "What do you need?"

"Do you have an evidence bag?"

"Yeah." Lucas quickly pulled on a pair of gloves and grabbed a bag.

Henry pulled the bagged cross out of his coat pocket. "I'm entrusting this to you."

"You found it."

"Yes. Pay attention. Take this with you." Henry handed Lucas the bagged cross and took the empty evidence bag from him. "Put it in the box with the rest of the collected evidence. Make sure it gets to the lab. And most importantly, don't draw attention to it."

"Got it." He turned for the door.

"Lucas."

"Yeah, boss." Lucas turned back around.

"Where are you going?"

"The... lab?"

Henry shook his head. "No, you're staying with the crime scene technicians. When they leave, that's when you will leave too."

"Oh. Got it."

Henry bagged the decoy and tucked it in his coat pocket. "Shall we, Jo?"

"Let's go." They got into the car and pulled away from the curb. "What were you shaking your head about earlier?"

"You and I were getting along and Hanson noticed. He gave me a thumbs up."

"Oh." There was silence between them for a few blocks. "So, do you really think someone's going to try something crazy to get the cross?"

"I think the thief is getting desperate to locate it. So, yes. I think some..."

There was the deafening sound of metal on metal and breaking glass as Jo's car was hit on her side. The other car had hit them between her engine and front door, pushing the police car into scaffolding on a nearby building. The airbags had deployed and Jo's face was pressed into one with the force of the crash. As they hit the scaffolding, Jo heard the sounds of something awful to her right and Henry groaned in pain.

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Sorry this is a day late; life got in the way of posting. I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, superlc529 and Thunderstrike16 for their reviews. superlc529: I'm glad you like all the small character details I'm trying to include. This chapter starts right where the last one left of. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5

 _Henry's hurt_. Jo tried to sit up, but she was dizzy from the crash and she couldn't think straight. It sounded like someone was searching through a pile of clothes and Henry cried out in pain. _The suspect was searching through Henry's pockets_. Something hit her arm and she groaned; _that was going to leave a bruise_. Seconds later, the car that hit them started up, backed up, and raced away.

Jo finally sat up and looked over at Henry. "Oh, my God. Henry!"

"I've had worse." Henry looked down. "But this is, as the kids say, up there."

Henry's chest had been pierced by part of the scaffolding. Blood was trickling down the front of his shirt and soaking into the fabric. His breathing was labored and pain was clearly written across his face. Jo didn't know what to do. She wanted to help her friend, but he was the one with the medical training, not her. Her hand shot to her pocket, but her phone wasn't there.

Jo tried to scoot closer to him. "Ow. My leg is stuck."

Henry handed Jo her phone. "Call Abe."

"No, I'm calling an ambulance."

"Call the ambulance for yourself. I have a collapsed lung, perforated liver, broken ribs and probably more damage to other organs. I'll need Abe. Please, Jo. Trust me."

"You're not dying."

Henry gasped as he reached into his pocket. "Hold onto this." He handed her his pocket watch.

"Henry…"

"Jo, the ambulance won't get here in time to get me to the hospital before I die and I don't want to disappear in front of them. Trust me, I know. Call Abe first. Please." Henry coughed and a trickle of blood dripped down his chin.

Jo looked at Henry for a long moment and then dialed Abe's number. "Abe."

" _Hey, Jo. What's up?_ "

"It's Henry. He's hurt. It's bad."

" _And he told you to call me. What is he wearing?_ "

"What?"

" _I'll need to bring him clothes and they need to be a close match to what he's got on now. I know you're stressed right now, but try to be detailed_."

Jo quickly looked over Henry's clothing, trying to ignore the blood. "He's... uh... wearing black slacks, a pale blue dress shirt, grey vest, a black blazer, dark blue scarf, black shoes, and a black trench coat."

" _Got it. Okay. What's coming is going to seem... weird. Try to stay calm. Everything is going to be fine. You'll see_." Abe hung up.

Jo pocketed Henry's watch. "I'm still calling an ambulance."

"Jo." Henry's voice was getting weaker. "I'll be fine. Don't tell them about me. Tell them I got out and got a cab a couple blocks back."

"Henry," a couple tears were falling down Jo's cheeks, "don't leave me."

"I won't. You'll see." Henry took a couple more shallow breaths and then exhaled.

Jo stared as he exhaled for the last time and his eyes glassed over. She was about to turn away to cry when his body vanished. Jo's eyes widened in shock and her breathing sped up. Henry had just died and vanished. He'd been telling the truth about being immortal. Abe's advice to stay calm echoed in her mind and she tried to take deep breaths to calm her racing heart. She looked at the scaffolding pole again. It had been bloody before, but now it was just dirty.

She looked down at her phone again and was about to call for help when she heard her name being called. "Jo!" It was Hanson.

Jo took a deep breath to, hopefully, keep her voice level. "I'm here! My leg is pinned."

Hanson's face appeared in her broken window. "Where's Henry?"

Jo remembered what Henry had said before he vanished. "I dropped him off to take a cab a couple blocks back. He wanted to confuse the suspect. I got hit anyway."

"You have the replica though. How?"

"Henry left it with me. The suspect realized it was the fake though; left it behind." She leaned back. "I didn't see them."

Hanson saw her phone in her hand. "Have you called someone?"

"Not yet. I just found my phone."

"I got it." Hanson called in her crash and came back. "How bad are you pinned?"

Jo touched her leg. "I don't feel any blood and I don't think it's broken. It just hurts when I try to move."

"Did you see anything?"

"The car was red. And it sounded like a truck."

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Abe threw the car in park and grabbed a towel before getting out of the car. Henry was still in the water and trying to stay out of sight due to the amount of sunlight illuminating the area. When he saw Abe, he hurried out of the water and gladly accepted the offered towel. They hurried back to the car and took off. Abe pulled into an alleyway not far from the water to give his father some privacy to dry off and put on the clothes in the backseat.

Henry finished dressing and stepped out of the car to tuck in his shirt. "I do think she'll believe me now."

"We just gotta hope she didn't freak out and end up in a rubber room."

"Oh, Abraham. She won't end up in a rubber room. I have faith in her." He got back in the car. "She'll be fine."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Listen, dinner is in the oven. I gotta to get back home."

"That's fine. Drop me off on West 52nd. I'll get a cab from there."

"You got it, Pops. Here," Abe handed him some money, "for the cab."

"Thank you."

Abe dropped Henry off and left to get back to their dinner. Henry flagged down a cab and it took him back to the precinct. Lucas was just stepping out of the crime scene van when Henry arrived and when he spotted the ME, he waved him over. Henry walked over to Lucas; he had told Lucas to be discrete, and now he was drawing attention to himself. The immortal wondered what his assistant thought was so important that he couldn't wait until they got inside. He also hoped that the real cross had made it here okay. The attempt to steal it earlier made him worry that another attempt had been made.

"Lucas."

"I've got the cross in the box. I tried to be cool about it, but I don't know." Lucas was looking around for eavesdroppers.

"I'm sure you did fine. Let's get it inside."

Lucas carried the evidence box inside and Henry opened the box to find the cross nestled inside. He reverently took it out of the box to examine it. It was just as beautiful as he remembered. The patina from the passage of time had deepened slightly and there were a few scratches, but Henry knew these had been there for about seventy years. The theft hadn't injured it at all.

 ** _Western Front 1945 (just across the German border from France)..._**

 _Being a medic during any war was hell, and the Second World War was no exception. Henry had already died twice; once he'd been shot while trying to rescue a fallen soldier, the second when a shell hit him on the beaches of Normandy. This was the third time he'd enlisted and he'd been forced to use his real name for the second time. This time around though, it seemed his company had avoided any major combat. Maybe this time, he could return to the States properly._

 _Night had fallen, and the company's doctors were listening to the AFR for updates on the war's progress as they waited for the next wave of injured soldiers to arrive. A blond nurse walked in the tent. Henry looked up and recognized her._ Abigail. _He had to admit that he fancied her from the moment he laid eyes on her with the baby in her arms. But nothing could ever come of it. His immortality would only tear them apart eventually. It was better to never get involved with her in the first place. Better that he suffered the heartache of a love that could never be than to put her through it as well._

 _The broadcaster moved on to the next story. "The Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Vienna was destroyed by Allied bombings this morning after several Nazi battalions were discovered to be using the cathedral as a sniper's nest and general headquarters for…"_

 _Henry stood up and walked out of the tent into the cool night air. That church couldn't have been destroyed. It was a beautiful building for a wonderful congregation. Well, at least it had been in 1903 when he'd seen it last. He wondered if that cross he kept bumping into had been damaged or destroyed with it. A work of art like that, he hoped it hadn't._

 _Behind him, a branch cracked as someone stepped on it. "Is everything all right, Dr. Morgan?" Abigail had followed him._

" _Yes. I just needed some fresh air."_

" _You seemed upset by that news story."_

 _Henry nodded. "I'd visited the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in my youth. It left an impression on me. And now it has been destroyed."_

" _I'm sorry."_

 **Present...**

Lucas had been watching Henry. "Do you have a history with that?"

"Lucas, you should know by now that I have a great appreciation for things of beauty. This cross is no exception." He set the cross down gently and headed for his office. "I should have heard from Jo by now."

"If you had a cell phone…"

Henry's phone was ringing as he crossed the threshold of his office. "Doctor Morgan."

" _Hey, Doc. Ah, Jo's been in an accident_."

"Oh, no. Is she alright?" Henry injected as much concern into his voice as he could.

" _Yeah, no. She's okay. Her left leg was pinned. Firefighters got her out and paramedics are taking her to the hospital. You were right. Someone was after that cross._ "

"Lucas got it here safely." Henry looked out at the morgue where Lucas was looking at the cross with a magnifying glass.

" _Lemme ask you something, Doc. Why'd you get out of the car?"_

"I assumed they would follow me. I was the one who made a show of putting the cross in my coat pocket. She wasn't supposed to be in danger."

" _That's about what she said. You're lucky you got out of the car_."

Henry turned around and looked out the window of his office to hide his smirk from the morgue. "And why is that?"

" _Part of the scaffolding her car was pushed into came through the windshield and skewered your seat. You might have been killed._ "

"I see. Detective, which hospital was Jo taken to?"

Detective Hanson rattled off the address. " _Hey, Doc?_ "

"Yes?"

" _I'm glad the two of you are working things out._ "

"As am I. Thank you for telling me about Jo." Henry hung up the phone and returned to the morgue. "Lucas, Detective Martinez has been in an accident. I'm going to the hospital."

"Wait, before you go, the tests are all done. Did you want the report now?"

"Why not?"

"Okay." Lucas grabbed the folder. "Adhesive residue comes back as duct tape. It's common, no identifying chemical signatures. It was the gunpowder that was interesting."

"What was it made of?"

"Potassium Nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur with just a hint of dextrin. Basically, this stuff was homemade."

"What about the white sliver you found in the clothes? Was it made from polyvinyl chloride?"

"PVC, yeah. How did you…? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Yes, it was. What are we looking at?" Lucas set the folder down.

"My guess is a homemade gun. If you know what you're doing, you can make a gun from those ingredients and hardware supplies." Henry turned for the door.

"Hey, Doc."

"Yes?"

"Is Detective Martinez going to be okay?"

"Yes, Lucas. I believe she will be fine."

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, and Superlc529 for their reviews. Superlc529: that phonecall was a fun scene to write. KenH: Jo's reaction is starting this chapter off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6

When Henry walked into Jo's hospital room, she couldn't help but stare. He really was telling the truth about his immortality. She had watched him die and disappear, and now he was walking, apparently uninjured, into her exam room. She'd had a theory that he had begun to think he was like a god or something, but the evidence staring her in the face said otherwise.

"Henry?"

He smiled. "Hello, Jo. How are you feeling?"

She shook her head to clear it. "I've... been better. I've also been worse."

Henry sat next to her bed. "How is your leg?"

"Bruised. Doctors want me to keep weight off it. Said I'm lucky it's not broken." She glanced at the door and lowered her voice. "How is this possible?"

"I've been trying to find the answer to that question for two hundred years. To my knowledge, only two people are afflicted."

"You and 'Adam'."

"Yes. Neither of us know why, and neither of us know how to end it."

Jo shook her head. "This is all crazy."

"You'll get used to it."

"I'll have to if I want to be able to function at work."

"Yes, and you're right. Getting used to it doesn't make it any less crazy. I hated this at first. I still do, a little. But I'm starting to accept it."

Jo glanced at the door again. "I don't think I'll be making it to dinner tonight."

Henry smiled mischievously. "Want me to see what I can do?"

"Henry…"

"I may currently work as a medical examiner, but I am still a doctor. And I have years of experience."

Jo's eyes were smiling though her mouth was trying to hide it. "Well, when you put it that way."

"I'll be right back."

It only took twenty minutes for Henry to arrange for Jo to be released into his care. Henry called a car service to take them to his home and then called Abe to update him on the detective's condition. She was only too happy to put her own clothes back on and take the wheelchair to the exit. The town car was waiting for them and Henry helped Jo get in. The car brought them to the antique store quickly and Henry got out.

Jo put an arm over Henry's shoulders and he helped her out. "My leg will be better tomorrow, right?"

"Would you mind terribly if I examined the injury myself before I answer that?"

"I'd rather we get inside first."

"Of course."

Abe opened the door. "Dinner's almost ready. And the couch is made up for you, Henry."

Jo stopped just inside the store's door. "Henry, I'm not taking your bed."

"Yes, you are. I insist."

Jo hobbled up the stairs with Henry's assistance and Abe pulled out a chair for her at the dining table before bringing the main dish out. While Henry took a look at Jo's left leg, Abe finished mixing the salad and setting the table. There was bruising just above her knee that was a deep purple and a touch of green, but besides that, Henry was certain she would be fine.

"I will agree with your doctors and suggest keeping your weight off it for a couple days. If you're going to work tomorrow, stay at the precinct."

"If you're trying to protect me again…"

"How easily do you think you'll be able to run tomorrow, detective?" Henry interrupted her retort with a question designed to put her injury in perspective.

Jo got the message. "Not very."

"I am trying to protect you, Jo, only this time it's from yourself. If a suspect started running, you would be in too much pain to follow, even if you took something for the pain. Using crutches will be your best way to get around at the precinct."

Abe put the salad on the table. "I'll go get them after we eat. Dinner's served."

"Crutches?" Jo turned in her chair to face the table.

Henry took his seat. "Crutches or limping, it's up to you."

Jo sighed. "Guess I need to stop being so independent."

"There's nothing wrong with being independent as long as you recognize when you can't do something alone."

Abe handed Jo her plate of food. "He's still working on that."

Jo smiled. "Knowing you're his son explains a lot now. You guys lied about that the first time I had dinner here, but I get it now. I hadn't earned your trust yet."

"We've lied about a great many things, I'm afraid. Thank you, Abe." Henry accepted the offered plate. "I intend to set the record straight."

"That might take a while."

"Yes, it might."

"Can we set that conversation aside and bless the food?" Abe looked at the pair.

Henry smiled. "Of course." He said grace and they all dug in.

Jo moaned in pleasure. "This is amazing."

"Mom left a cookbook behind when she left us. All of her recipes. I found it recently and started going through it. I'd almost forgotten how good a cook she was."

"I'm sorry you lost Abigail that way."

Abe shrugged. "She died trying to protect us. I miss her, but I also understand."

"She'd written a letter the day she died, but she didn't send it. She didn't get the chance. 'Adam' showed up and her plans for us to be a family again ended."

Jo nodded. "I'm sorry."

They ate in silence for a few minutes and then the conversation turned to other subjects. Abe told Jo about the quest he had been on trying to find out who his parents had been, and how that search had led him to the discovery that he was related to Henry in a way that wasn't father and son by way of adoption. Jo told them more about her late husband, and Henry told them about his history with the cross they had just recovered.

 ** _Western Front 1945 (just across the German border from France)..._**

" _Henry?"_

" _One moment." Henry secured the bandage on the soldier's arm. "Be careful to avoid getting that dirty. I don't want to see it infected again."_

" _Yes, Doctor."_

 _Henry turned to Abigail. "How can I help you?"_

" _Do you have a moment? I'd like to talk to you."_

 _Henry turned to the nearest doctor. "Can you cover for me?"_

" _Don't take too long. You never know when the next wave will hit."_

" _I shan't be long."_

 _Abigail led Henry out of the tent and to a spot not far from the medical tent. "I found out something I think you'd like to hear."_

" _Really?" Henry was intrigued. "Do tell."_

" _Do you remember that story about the man who died evacuating art and civilians from a damaged church?"_

" _Yes. In Clèves as I recall."_

" _Well, he was a member of a team that has been sent here to protect historic sites and art from the Allied bombings. This group is trying to recover artwork the Nazis have stolen." Abigail looked excited._

" _I'm afraid I don't understand."_

" _You were telling me about that church that was destroyed; about a cross and other icons inside." Abigail took a deep breath. "If the pieces are as wonderful as you've described, the Nazis probably stole them. They might not have been destroyed."_

 _Henry smiled. "I hope not."_

 **Present...**

"The Monuments Men? Like in the George Clooney movie?" Jo smiled. "Did they recover the cross?"

"No. The Nazi's didn't hide it where the MFAA went to recover art. The Soviet 'Trophy Brigade' found it. That's how the cross returned to Russia and ended up in a museum."

"When did you hear about it?"

"After the war was over. I was glad to hear the art had survived WWII. Unfortunately, it was not going to be returned to the church it had been taken from."

Abe turned to his father. "So, how are you two going to catch the guy who stole it from the museum?"

"I was hoping to use the cross as bait and leak a story that it had been sold here, but the NYPD would have to approve that plan first."

Abe nodded. "I'm game."

Jo shook her head. "The Lieutenant won't just sign off on it. It'll be a hard sell."

Henry nodded. "I know. Drawing this man out may be the only way to stop him, though. I believe it's worth a shot."

"I'll do my best to convince her."

Abe stood. "Let me go get the crutches."

"Thank you, Abe." Henry stood and started collecting the dishes. "I'll get started on these."

"Henry?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you go from being a doctor to being a medical examiner?"

Henry set the dishes in the sink. "That was in 1957. I was walking to my car when I came across a man who was being threatened. As I was deciding whether to intervene or not, the man was shot."

"And, because you're a doctor, you went to help."

"Yes." Henry sat again. "I ran to his side, and then I was shot too. Our assailant left and I tried to apply pressure. I could tell the victim was dying, and he asked me not to leave him, but I heard the sirens and I was dying too. I decided to leave him and hide so that when I died, my secret wouldn't be revealed."

"Mom and Pop had a heated discussion on the subject when he got home." Abe had returned with the crutches. "What was it you said?"

"'I can no longer be a doctor if I know that, if pressed, I'll break my oath.'" Henry sighed. "I was so ashamed of myself, but Abigail was wonderful. She reassured me, told me I was a wonderful doctor who had made the choice to protect my family."

"So you became a medical examiner?"

"Not right away, but that is what started me down the path to my current career."

Jo had one more question. "Will you ever return to practicing medicine?"

"Someday perhaps. For now, I'll stick with my current profession."

Abe handed Jo the crutches. "They should be the right size."

Jo stood and tried them out. "They're perfect. Thanks."

"This way." Henry led the way to his room. "I hope you will be comfortable."

Jo entered the room. "I remember this room. I searched it when we thought you were behind the subway accident."

"Yes. That crash wasn't the most painful of deaths. Thank you for finding my watch."

"You really should stop dropping it."

"Yes." Henry smiled. "Good night, Jo."

"Good night, Henry."

* * *

 **A/N: MFAA stands for Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives. It was a sub-commission created during WWII to protect historically significant places and art. I wanted to include a reference to The Monuments Men, but when I researched the events of actual history, it turns out that the character of Donald Jeffries was based on the life of Ronald Balfour. Balfour was not killed while protecting the Madonna of Bruges in Bruges, Belgium. He was actually killed while evacuating artifacts and civilians in Clèves, Germany. Having the character die protecting that statue was a way to give the movie a purpose and a ticking clock. Though the movie is historically inaccurate, I still think it was great representation of their purpose. Stay tuned!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Superlc529, KenH, phnxgrl, SSTrans and ArgylePirateWD** **for their reviews. KenH: I try to have fun with the research. Some things are harder to find than others, but that's what makes it interesting. This chapter starts the next day. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Hanson looked up in surprise when Jo came into the precinct. "I thought you would be taking the day off."

"We've got a killer to catch. I'll be stuck at the precinct doing the donkey work today." Jo navigated her crutches though the bullpen and reached her desk.

"Need me to get you anything?"

Jo sat down. "A coffee would be great."

Hanson grabbed her mug. "One precinct coffee coming right up."

Henry walked up to her desk after Hanson headed to the break room. "I'm ready to make my report."

"That was fast. We just got here."

"I was up late last night crafting a demonstration piece. Lucas should have emailed you the video file by now."

Hanson returned with Jo's coffee. "Here you are, Jo. Hey, Doc, ready to tell us the C.O.D.?"

"I am. Our victim was killed with a homemade gun. It was crafted using PVC pipes and homemade gunpowder. It's a crude weapon, unless you know what you're doing."

"A zip gun." Hanson had returned to his chair. "You sure, Doc?"

"I built one last night and test fired it this morning. Lucas should have emailed you the video by now."

Hanson checked his email. "Here it is." He opened the file and pushed play.

On the screen Henry was in the ballistics lab. " _This is a test fire to confirm C.O.D. and murder weapon for Mr. Crocetti._ "

Henry loaded a hand loaded bullet into the "gun" with care and then pointed the pipe gun at the ballistics dummy a couple feet away. On the side of the gun was something that looked similar to a sliding latch on a public bathroom stall door. Henry flicked the latch up and the gun fired with a soft pop. The bullet hit the dummy and injuries similar to those sustained by the victim appeared on the ballistics dummy.

Hanson was impressed. "That is both amazing and terrifying. Why wasn't it as loud as a normal gun?"

"The gunpowder was homemade from the raw ingredients used to manufacture gunpowder. It is difficult to make working gunpowder from raw ingredients without having the ingredients go through a refining process first. The explosion is therefore less violent, which means the bullet's speed is greatly reduced and it makes a lot less sound."

"How do you know everything you know?"

"I am always doing research on anything that interests me." Henry handed Jo the folders Lucas had shown him the night before.

"Except technology." Hanson stood and looked over Jo's shoulder.

"I understand some technology. It is simply one subject I lack an interest in pursuing at the moment."

Lieutenant Reece walked in. "Detective Martinez, what are you doing here? I thought you were injured."

"I can still work at the precinct, Lieutenant."

"All right. Where are we on identifying Mr. Crocetti's killer?"

"I don't have the identity of his killer, but I have discovered the C.O.D., the murder weapon, and a possible way to draw out his killer by using the cross that was recovered yesterday." Henry handed Reece the letter Abe had written last night giving consent to use his shop for a sting.

Reece looked over the letter. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It may be the only way to draw him out. We know he's desperate to reclaim the cross." Henry glanced at Jo for her support and she nodded. "My roommate is more than willing to help out."

"I'll have to run this up the chain of command, but I do like the idea. Keep me posted."

* * *

A few hours later, the Lieutenant received the approval to set up the sting. A surveillance team was sent to wire the shop with Abe's supervision. Jo had also asked to be allowed to watch the monitors in the back room in case she'd seen more during the accident than she thought. The Lieutenant told her that as long as she didn't try to apprehend the suspect, she could.

While everything was being set up, Jo went down to the morgue to talk to Henry. "You're going to have to watch what you say for the next couple days."

Henry smiled. "I think I can handle it."

"Right. Because you've gotten so good at lying." Jo sat in one of the chairs in front of Henry's desk. "How long have you worked in the morgue?"

"I started working here five years after Abigail left."

"Twenty-five years?" Jo was shocked. "How has no one noticed?"

"M.E.'s usually only work here ten years or so before the sheer number of bodies make them long for a quieter environment. The exception is Dr. Washington. I avoid him as much as possible so he'll forget I'm here. Also, I haven't been here constantly for that long. I've worked here off and on for twenty-five years."

Jo smiled. "I'm liking this honest Henry."

"I've never wanted to lie to you, Jo. It was simply necessary to avoid the curiosity of others. Scientists would love to figure out why I am the way I am. I'm just not too keen on the process they would use."

"I'm fairly certain live dissection isn't allowed anymore."

Henry looked away. "You might be surprised what's allowed in the name of scientific knowledge. Especially when it is not public knowledge."

"I guess." She was quiet for a moment. "The first case we worked, when I got shot, did you…"

"Yes, I did tackle Hans Koehler off the roof of Grand Central Station. You saw it correctly the first time. One more lie that I've told you."

"I believed you in the hospital, you know. When you said I'd been in shock then and under the influence of morphine now. That explanation made more sense at the time. Before I knew the truth about you."

Henry nodded. "In a world that believes immortality to be a myth, me surviving a fall of that height without injury would seem rather strange."

"When did 'Adam' find you?"

"I don't know, exactly. But he made contact for the second time after that fall. That was him on the phone in your room. He said 'That looked like it hurt.'" Henry paused. "I was terrified to find out that someone knew my secret and was planning on using it to torment me."

"The man who attacked you with the sword, he was working with Adam?"

"Yes. 'Adam' was working as a therapist. My therapist."

"I've met Adam?"

Henry nodded. "Yes. Anyway, Clark Walker was already suffering from delusions. It was easy to change those delusions so he would believe he was immortal. Adam was using him as a decoy to test me."

Jo shook her head. "The more I hear about him, the more I understand why you had to trap him in his own mind."

"Quite." Henry picked up the phone as it rang. "Dr. Morgan speaking."

It was Hanson. " _The team just called. Everything is set up. We're headed over. Have you seen Jo?_ "

"She's down here. We'll be right up." Henry hung up. "Everything's ready. We should go."

Jo stood up and grabbed the crutches. "After you."

* * *

 **Two days later...**

Waiting. Waiting was never fun. A website for Abe's antique store had been created and the cross was the featured item. At night, the cross was placed in the safe in the basement. Abe had been sitting in the shop reading and waiting for someone to inquire about it for that entire time. With no one asking about the cross, it had been in the safe for two nights now with uniforms guarding it as a precaution. Jo had practically lived at their house the entire time. Henry would go to work when he was called, but he only stayed as long as he needed to before coming back home.

Jo's bruise had changed colors and was looking worse and more painful, but she'd gotten to a point where she could walk with just a slight limp. The crutches stayed next to the monitor just in case she needed them. Hanson had also stopped pointing out when he noticed Jo and Henry getting along. Henry was glad because it meant he could stop trying to fake his attempts to make things right with Jo.

Jo and Henry were playing chess again. As long as there was nothing going on in the store, they didn't have to watch the monitors closely; with all the cameras, microphones and other cops around though, they couldn't just talk, so they played chess. The first few times they'd played, Jo had lost in just a few minutes. She had gotten much better since then. This time she was almost keeping up with him. It was her turn and she was studying the board. She raised her hand a couple times, but both times she pulled back.

She finally moved a piece. "Check."

Henry moved a piece between his king and her bishop. "Checkmate."

"What?" She looked at the board. Until Henry had moved his knight, her king wasn't being attacked directly. Now that her king was under attack by his knight she saw that there was nowhere for her to move her king without another piece taking it. "Oh."

"That was a much better game. You're learning."

Jo smirked. "Did you play as a kid?"

Henry smiled. "Yes, with my father. Seems like it was ages ago sometimes."

"Heads up. Someone's coming in." Hanson brought their attention to the monitor, not noticing the knowing smile Jo was giving Henry.

A man walked in. Abe looked up from his book and greeted him. The man nodded and started wondering around the store. His eyes darted everywhere and his head was constantly moving. He looked at Abe a lot and Henry found himself worrying about his son's safety. Abe didn't appear to be too worried about it and made a show of returning to his book.

The man started for the desk and Abe put his book down again. "Can I help you find something?"

"I saw online that you'd recently added a Russian Orthodox cross to your inventory."

"Oh, yeah, yeah. I keep those kinds of pieces in the back. I'll go get it." Abe went into the back room and grabbed the display box the cross was in. "Here it is. The display case doesn't come with. It'll cost an extra $60 if you want it too."

"What's that cord on it?" The police had added a GPS cable to the cross in case the suspect managed to get away with the it.

"That is to make sure this piece doesn't walk away. All my high value pieces have one. I'll take it off once it's sold."

"How much?"

"Well," Abe paused, "the appraisal I got when it came in was about $300,000. I'm willing to go $275,000."

The man nodded. "What if I told you this is stolen merchandise?"

"I'd tell you you're wrong. My appraiser is tapped into all that. She would've said something."

"Listen, old man. I know it's stolen 'cause I'm the one who stole it!"

Jo nodded. "That's a confession to the theft."

Hanson lifted his walkie. "Move in."

Officers entered the front door. The man took one look at them and bolted around the counter into the back room, shoving Abe out of the way. Jo grabbed one of the crutches and used it to trip the fleeing suspect. He went down hard and a bit of piping come out of his pocket. The man reached for it, but Jo kicked it away from him.

Hanson pointed his gun at the suspect. "Don't move! You're under arrest for burglary for now. We'll see what else shakes out later."

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, Superlc529, SSTrans and littleellie30 for their reviews. Superlc529: The way I write my stories is similar to a Forensic TV Show; there are weekly cases (groups of chapters focusing on a case) and an overarching storyline for the season. Don't worry, this story isn't close to being over yet. I have other cases already written; I just need to type them up (because I'm old-school and write in notebooks) and then proofread them a dozen or so times (okay, not quite that many... but close) before they go up. What all that means is there may be a few weeks between cases, but I will keep posting until I've gotten to the end of the story arch. KenH: chess is both and Jo didn't hurt herself. littleellie30: I can only post a chapter a week if I want to avoid going months without an update. Sorry about that!**

 **This chapter starts where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Henry rushed out to check on his son. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just got knocked off balance is all." Abe tugged his shirt straight. "You guys got him, right?"

"Yes." Henry picked up the box with the cross. "Yes, we did."

Hanson came out of the back room with the suspect's wallet as uniforms took him away. "This ID says his name is James Crawford. I doubt it though." He handed the ID to Henry.

"I see why. That's not the format New York uses for their licenses.

"No. We'll see what his prints kick out." Hanson headed for the door. "Let's get him to booking."

Jo came out of the back room. "This crutch is a little mangled. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"I turned off the surveillance equipment. The team should be here to pack it up soon."

"Good." Henry tilted his head to indicate they should go upstairs. "I haven't felt that watched since prison."

Jo limped to the couch. "This was after the asylum?"

"Yes. I hated that place."

Abe had followed them. "So, your plan to catch a thief and murderer worked."

"Yes. Abe, you were perfect. Thank you."

"Thanks, Pop. That was actually a lot of fun. Maybe we could do it again sometime."

Henry shook his head with a smile on his lips. "I doubt we'll get a case like this very often."

"I know, but I'm open to helping out."

Jo smiled at Henry and changed the subject slightly. "We need to talk to him tonight. I don't think he recognized you today, but he might if you came into the interrogation room. Last I remember…"

"I'd been impaled by some scaffolding, yes. I think you're right. I should only observe tonight."

Jo stood. "We should head to the precinct. He'll be processed soon. I'd like to be there for that."

"Of course."

"I'll be here. You know, supervising the take-down." Abe saw them off and locked the door to wait for the crime scene team.

Jo had gotten a new car following the accident and she drove them to the precinct. "I almost forgot to ask, did you get a good look at the guy who hit us?"

"Yes. We have the right man in custody. Not that I can tell anyone. That would put me in the car."

"Right. I'm going to have to be careful when I'm interrogating him."

"Listen, I know we've been avoiding the topic, but we do need to talk about our last case. You were right to be mad at me for sabotaging the case." Henry paused. "I did have a reason."

"Adam had some involvement, right? Can we talk about this later?"

"Yes, he did. And of course."

* * *

Hanson and Jo handled the interrogation with Henry and the Lieutenant watching from behind the glass. James Crawford was cuffed to the table, a glare on his face as the detectives came inside. Jo took a seat and Hanson leaned against the wall by the one-way mirror. They looked at him for a while, trying to size him up. The suspect only showed hostility.

Jo started by opening the folder. "So, James Crawford. Or do you prefer Aaron Miller?" He said nothing. "No? How about Joshua Smith?"

"I like Brandon Miles." The suspect looked away as Hanson said that name. "That is your real name, isn't it? It was the one you were using when you were sentenced to Juvie for your second shoplifting offense."

"So we've just added Identity Theft to your charges as well. We found the real James Crawford out in Las Vegas. He's a detective. Bold choice." Jo slid a photo of Crawford across the table. "He's been looking for you. Apparently there's a warrant out for your arrest. You're wanted for a double homicide."

"We've also added a murder charge." Hanson dropped a file on the table. "That pipe gun that fell out of your pocket matched the weapon that killed Ezio Crocetti."

"Ezio was badly beaten when we found him. That's an assault charge."

"You may have noticed that we took photographs of your hands when you were printed. We've matched your fists to his bruises. That's how we know. Oh, and then there's the accident you caused where you almost killed a detective. That's attempted murder of a law enforcement officer."

The suspect finally spoke. "What do you want?"

"A confession. New York doesn't have the death penalty; Nevada does. You tell us everything, including what happened in Nevada, and they're willing to pass on executing you."

"I'll pass."

Jo looked at Hansen. "We've got a tough guy."

"I guess we're going to do this the hard way."

"Look, you got me on the theft of the cross. I admitted that earlier, I won't deny it now. But that's all you got."

"So you're denying that the pipe gun, which came out of your pocket, is yours?"

"Damn right. We all know it was planted there."

Hansen turned the iPad in his hands around and hit play. On the screen, Miles tripped on the crutch and the gun fell out of his pocket. Miles turned from the screen. His claim of a planted gun had just been disproved by a camera. His brow contracted in thought and he turned to look at the screen again, but Hansen had put it behind his back again.

Jo knew what he'd seen. "So, we know the gun was yours. Which means you killed Mr. Crosetti."

"There's no way you can prove that gun was the murder weapon."

"Actually, we can." Jo showed him another photo, laying more down as she spoke. "This is a photograph of the gun when it was recovered at the antiques shop. You can see a chip is missing from the barrel. And this one is of a PVC chip our ME found during the autopsy. It fits the gun perfectly."

He looked away again. "This is crap."

"Yeah, maybe." Hanson took a seat. "We're testing the PVC on both to make absolutely sure. Point is, we know you're guilty. It's up to you how hard your prison time will be."

"You don't scare me."

"We're not trying to scare you. We're trying to help you realize just how much trouble you're in."

"Whatever."

Hanson pulled up another video on the iPad. "This video took a while to find, but I think you'll see why you're better off confessing to everything."

Behind the glass, Henry stiffened. If the video had him on it at all, there was going to be some difficult things to explain. Inside the interrogation room, Jo was having a similar thought. Hanson hadn't said anything during the stakeout at Abe's shop about finding a video of her getting hit. Her partner turned the screen around.

On the screen, Miles could be seen sitting in the cab of his red truck. He backed up and then floored it, hitting Jo's car just as it entered the cameras view. Jo was barely visible at the moment of impact, but Henry was just off screen. Miles was staring intently at the screen this time, looking to see if Dr. Morgan had been in the car. Jo relaxed a little when she saw that Henry was not on the camera.

Hanson put the tablet behind his back again. "We don't have anything after that, but I think it's clear that you were at least trying to hurt or kill a cop."

"I'm surprised you aren't charging me with the murder of the British guy."

In the observation room, Henry looked at the Lieutenant as she turned to him and shrugged. "Honestly don't know what he's talking about."

Jo's brow was furrowed. "The British guy? Who are you talking about?"

"The guy in the passenger seat when I hit you. He was stabbed by that metal pole."

Jo looked at Hanson and then back at Miles. "There was no one in my passenger seat."

"Yes, there was! I took that replica Ezio was making for me out of his pocket." Miles glanced between the two detectives, both of whom looked at him in bewilderment. "I saw him get in your car. Then I ran into you and he was stabbed with that pole."

Hanson turned to Jo and whispered. "Is he working on an insanity plea?"

"Sounds like it." Jo stood. "No one else was in the car with me when I got hit. Dr. Morgan did get in the car with me, but I dropped him off to get a cab a couple blocks before you hit me." She slid the notepad back to him. "Write what you've done down in detail." Miles took the pen and started writing. Jo left the interrogation room and went into the observation room. "Either he's not remembering what happened, or he's trying to set up an insanity defense."

The Lieutenant nodded. "So I saw. If that bit is in his confession, we might have trouble in court."

"Let's worry about that when we get to court."

* * *

Henry and Jo walked outside to go home. "Thank you. You handled his questions about me like a professional."

"Well, it's not like I haven't lied during an interrogation before."

"Regardless, thank you. How are you doing with all of this?"

Jo shook her head. "I'm not going to lie. Watching you die was... it was rough. Seeing you disappear... that was mind blowing. I'm having to pinch myself to believe it. It's still so weird."

"Yes. It is a bit strange. I'm sorry to put this on you."

"To be fair, I did kinda asked for it." Jo jerked her head toward her car. "Come on. You said we had to talk. Let's go somewhere else."

"Lead on."

She drove them to her house and invited him in. "I've got some pizza and beer in the fridge."

"Thank you. That would be wonderful."

She threw a couple pieces of pizza on a plate and stuck it in the microwave. "Save it. Abraham told me more about your hatred of microwaves."

Henry smiled, but he sounded pained. "I'll pretend I didn't see that."

"Good idea." She took the cap off a bottle and handed it to Henry. "So, you were sabotaging that case."

"Yes, for two reasons. The first was personal. I realized that the case was centered on a puggio dagger, which meant Adam was involved because that dagger is the one that killed him in the first place."

"And he thought the weapon that killed you the first time was the only one to make death permanent."

"Yes. Until a week ago, I had been wondering if I was actually still immortal. If Adam had been wrong about the weapon killing you for good, what if he was right that it would end your curse?" Henry smiled. "I'm actually glad he was wrong."

Jo pulled the pizza out of the microwave. "So, why were you sabotaging the case?"

"If Adam was right, I wanted to use the dagger to kill him and rid my life of him forever. When I met him down on that subway platform, I had the dagger, but I'm not a killer. I was sabotaging the case so I could find the dagger first."

"Lucas pulled it out of evidence for you, didn't he?"

"I didn't ask him to."

Jo nodded. "I know, I had to cover for him, not that he knows it. He looks up to you. Sees you do all these strange things and not only get away with it, but be right." She took a drink. "What was the second reason?"

Henry nodded as he set his beer down. "Yes. I was also trying to protect you."

Jo shook her head. "Henry..."

"When we found Xander de'Soto and you went to check the rest of the building, Adam came in and told me to distract the detectives or he would start killing my friends, starting with you. You were coming back and Adam hid in the closet."

Jo remembered that day. "You freaked out when I went to check it out. No one was there when the door opened." She nodded as she figured out why. "Because he killed himself to get out."

"Yes. So you see, I was terrified that he would make good on his word. I felt I needed to do everything in my power to prevent him from doing so."

Jo sighed. "So that's why you kept trying to throw us off. I wish you'd told me about all of this sooner. Then you wouldn't have needed to lie to me."

"No more lies. I promise. I'll still need to lie in front of the others, but I promise to clear it up for you later."

Jo smiled. "I'll hold you to that."

* * *

 **A/N: And that is it for the first case in this season. For clarification, "Forever Season 2" will not have 20-22 cases in it. I do not have that much time in the day/week/month/year to spend on writing. My "Season 2" will be like the episodes in the first season that had a lot to do with the mythos of Dr. Henry Morgan. I think my "Season 2" will end up with eight or nine "episodes" in it.**

 **(Brief spoiler: I'm planning on doing a Season 3 too. Sshh!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** **I'd like to thank KenH, superlc529, phnxgrl, SSTrans and** **Kent Rigel** **for their reviews. KenH: The suspect had to go through Henry's coat to get the decoy cross, so he can understandably be a little confused how he was being charged with attempted murder of a police officer (Jo) and not with the murder of another (Henry). Just a minor detail that doesn't really need to be worried about. superlc529 and Kent Rigel** **: Thank you for your reviews and I hope I can continue to deliver stories to meet your expectations.**

 ** **The last case took place in May 2015 and this one is in late October 2015, so there has been a bit of a time jump.** Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9

"Morning, Abraham."

"Morning, Pops."

"You're up early. What's on your schedule today?"

Abe set down the paper. "You remember Fawn Mahoney?"

Henry poured himself some coffee. "Yes. Didn't we 'crash' the funeral of her late husband a few months back?"

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm going to have coffee with her this afternoon."

"You're not worried that it might be too soon?"

"Hey, she called me." He picked up the paper again. "I'm not expecting anything. It's just coffee."

Henry smiled. "Just like getting milkshakes was..."

"Yeah, yeah."

The telephone rang and Henry picked it up. "Hello? Detective. Of course. I'll be there soon."

"Duty calls?"

"So it would seem." Henry set down his mug. "Have fun on your date today."

"It's not a date."

* * *

Henry arrived at the crime scene a few minutes later and followed the directions given to him by the uniform stationed at the building's front door. Jo and Hanson were already there and the crime scene unit was just getting started. Hanson was talking to a young woman who was crying and Jo was handing one of her business cards to an older man, presumably the land lord. Henry went to the body.

Jo came over as he began his exam. "The victim's name is Nicole Day, 28. Hanson's talking to her roommate. She's the one who called it in."

Henry pulled on a pair of gloves and touched the victim's cheek. "How long has the roommate been gone?"

"Over the weekend; how'd you know?" Hanson had come over.

"This woman has been dead for at least 24 hours." Henry grabbed the victim's hand and moved her arm. "Make that 36 to 48 hours. Rigor mortis has already broken. Do we know if the roommate moved anything?"

"She said no, but you wouldn't ask unless you saw something."

"Lividity suggests Ms. Day was lying face down for at least 6 hours. I'm guessing the roommate turned her over."

"How bad is that?"

Henry looked at Hanson. "If she moved the body, she may have done more than that. For instance, this puncture mark looks interesting to me. If, for example, Ms. Day died of a heroin overdose, I'd like to know where the needle is."

"I'll have her taken to the station." Hanson turn to leave.

Henry stood. "I'd like to ask her a couple questions here first."

"Okay."

Jo came with. "Ms. Knight, I'm Detective Jo Martinez, this is Dr. Henry Morgan. We have a couple more questions to ask you."

"I already told the other detective everything."

"I doubt that." Henry was watching the roommate closely. "Ms. Day's body showed signs that she had been face down for quite some time. Did you move her?"

"Yes, okay, fine, so I touched her. She was just laying there. I thought she was asleep and I was just trying to wake her up. It's no big deal."

"If that's all you did."

Ms. Knight looked nervous. "What do you mean?"

"There is a mark on her arm that looks like it was caused by a needle."

Jo took over the question. "Did you remove something from her arm?"

"No..."

"Are you sure? You seem very nervous. Something you'd like to share?"

Ms. Knight looked between Henry and Jo. "There was a needle. But she didn't do drugs! She had diabetes. I just didn't want the cops jumping to conclusions. 'Oh, she has a needle in her arm; must be a druggie.' Nikki deserved better than that."

Henry nodded. "Where's the needle now?"

"In her kit. Left side of the sink, top drawer."

"Thank you."

Hanson stepped forward. "Let's go."

"Why?"

"We'll need to process you so we can eliminate your fingerprints and DNA from the evidence the crime scene techs collect."

Henry went into the bathroom and opened the drawer. "This must be it." He held it up. "Ms. Knight didn't clean it, so it'll be easier to find out what was in here."

"Could that be insulin?"

"It could, but it could also be a myriad of other things. Better to let the lab determine the contents."

Jo nodded. "What else can you see about the victim?"

"Let's see." Henry handed the insulin kit to a crime scene tech to be bagged. "No ligature marks around the wrists or neck. She wasn't tied down or strangled."

"She was face down."

"Yes." Henry opened Nikki's eyes. "There does appear to be petechiae. Suffocation is possible. Truth is, I'll need to perform a full exam to know for sure."

Jo was looking through a desk. "I've got a pay stub. We should talk to her employer if this was murder."

"What was her vocation?"

"She worked for Events by Stana. Maybe she was a party planner?" Jo held up the pay stub for Henry to see.

Henry nodded, then looked back at the victim. "Ms. Knight said that Nikki appeared to be sleeping when she found her..."

"Henry?"

Henry turned the body over. The hem of her camisole came up and Henry noticed there was something on her back. He carefully pulled up the shirt and they saw what was underneath. A word has been burned onto Nikki's back. The skin was red and raised. Henry touched the skin and noticed that the texture was similar to a contact burn, the kind you'd get if you touched a hot pan for a moment too long.

Henry sighed. "I'd say this was definitely murder."

"What does that say?"

Henry grabbed a piece of paper from the printer and wrote down the letters. "S-A-U-L-F-V-E-M-E-N-T. Saulfvement. I would guess its French, but I know French. This isn't a word I know."

"What does this mean? And why was it burned onto her back?"

* * *

While Henry got to work on Nicole Day's autopsy, Jo and Hanson went to talk to the roommate. "Andrea Knight. Sorry to keep you waiting. New evidence has come to light. We have a couple more questions."

"What now?"

"When you found Ms. Day, was she clothed?"

Andrea looked at Hanson like he was a pervert. "All I did was turn her over and take out the needle. Everything else I left the way you found it."

"So you didn't know about the burn on her back?" Jo placed a picture of the burn on the table.

Andrea's eyes grew big. "What? No! What does that even mean?"

"We've got someone working on that." Jo put the picture back in her folder. "What can you tell us about Nikki's life?"

"Like what? I already answered this."

Hanson held up a calming hand. "Just go through it again. You never know what might be helpful."

"She is... was... gay. Not that... we weren't a couple. I'm straight. We were friends in college. That's why we roomed together. Her last girlfriend moved out a month ago."

"What was her name?" Jo raised her pen.

"Jessica Hardwick. She wouldn't have done this."

"We'll still need to talk to her."

Andrea sighed. "I don't know where she is now. That was Nikki's life."

Hanson sat down. "We'll find her. What else can you tell us?"

"She hated her job. The boss is a bitch apparently. Wouldn't let her do what she had studied for."

"What do you mean?"

"She wouldn't promote Nikki to planner. Nikki was stuck in the stock room. She would have taken back her reception job as long as it got her out of the Inventory."

"Do you know her boss's name?"

"Alexis Deverodova."

* * *

"Alexis Deverodova. Born and raised here, as far as I can tell; her records are spotty. She became CEO of the company a year after leaving college when her aunt, Stana Deverodova, stepped down. This was 5 years ago." Hanson put the folder on Jo's desk.

Jo opened the folder. "Stana worked from home?"

"Yeah, I guess. She's the one who started the company thirty years ago. I found a few records for her past, but the picture is old. She died a couple years ago."

"Is that death certificate in Russian?"

Hanson nodded. "Went back to Russia to die and be buried with her parents. She was unmarried and had no kids. That's how the niece got the company." Hanson sat on the edge of Jo's desk. "What did you find on the vic?"

"Financials are clean, no criminal record, not even a parking ticket. I found her on social media. Nikki was a big fan of selfies. If these pictures are anything to go by, she's had several relationships in the past couple years."

Hanson stood to look over Jo's shoulder. "What about family?"

"Parents are divorced, mom remarried, and dad died of prostate cancer a year ago. From some of Day's posts, she hated her step-father and is estranged from her mother. Her mom lives in California now."

"That's sad." Hanson held up another picture. "I found the ex. Jessica Hardwicke has a solid alibi. She's with a theater production of Wicked. The one that's touring."

"Where is she now?"

"Vancouver, Canada. The entire troop can vouch for her."

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah. She broke up with Nikki to go on tour. I guess it was very amicable. Neither held a grudge over it."

"I was going to talk to Nikki's boss when Henry's done with the initial assessment."

"Okay. I'm going to work with the uniforms who did the canvas. I'm hoping they found a witness."

Jo stood. "We still don't have a T.O.D. so... good luck with that."

"I have a preliminary time of death window." Henry had come up from the morgue. "Ms. Day died between forty and forty-eight hours ago. I know that is a rather large time frame, but I'm running a couple tests to narrow that time frame down."

"Do we have a cause?"

"Not yet. Again, I have a test running on the contents of the syringe and another on her blood work."

"Was she not suffocated?" Jo grabbed her blazer.

"Some symptoms of a drug overdose can include suffocation as the body shuts down and respiratory functions cease. These tests will clear up which it is."

"Got it." She grabbed her keys. "I'm heading to Events by Stana. Coming?"

"Of course."

* * *

 **A/N: Next case is up and running. Stay tuned!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank tweets, phnxgrl, superlc529, SSTrans and KenH for their reviews. superlc529 and KenH: Yes, I am a Castle fan. I changed the company name from Events by Sasha to Events by Stana when it was announced that Katic was "not asked to return" to the show. Kate Beckett was my favorite character on that show (because of the amazing and talented Stana Katic) and I wanted to honor her in this story when she was forced to leave. tweets: The film was pretty good. While it may not have been completely historically accurate, it definitely captures the importance of the mission these men were on. I recommend it.**

 **This chapter picks up where we left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10

Events by Stana was housed in one of the many glass and steel structures in Manhattan. People milled around in the lobby with the end of lunch crowd returning to their jobs. Jo looked up the location of their offices on the directory in the middle of the lobby and the pair boarded an elevator. After a few stops, they got off and went down the hall to the office.

The receptionist looked up. "Hi there. Did you have an appointment or is this a walk-in?"

Jo held up her badge. "We're here to see Alexis Deverodova."

"Sure. I can help with that." The receptionist got up and led the way. "She's not usually in her office, so we should check the floor first."

Offices with glass walls lined the edge of the space; some had the blinds drawn and some were open to the somewhat chaotic spaces within. A currently unoccupied conference room was straight across from the group, offering a spectacular view of the city beyond, but it was the center space that drew their attention. People were working on round tables putting together place settings or with diagrams and little markers.

In the middle, a young woman was talking with an older man who was showing her a book of sorts. She would point to things and they would discuss it or she would shake her head and he would cross it out. The receptionist told them the woman was the boss and then returned to her desk. The young woman was wearing a wine colored shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, and cream slacks with her hair up in a bun.

Henry was struck by how familiar she looked. "I believe I may have met her before."

"Where?"

"I'm not sure."

"Let's go." Jo headed toward Deverodova. "Excuse me."

"We'll finish this up later." She touched his arm and turned to meet them. Her entire being paused as she saw Henry, but she recovered and looked at the Detective. "How can I help you?"

Jo flashed her badge. "Detective Jo Martinez, NYPD. This is Dr. Henry Morgan. Can we talk privately?"

"Of course." Deverodova's gaze lingered on Henry. "Let's go to my office." She led the way to her corner office.

Henry turned to her as she closed the door. "Forgive me for asking, but have we met before?"

Ms. Deverodova headed for her desk. "Weiß sie, Ihr Geheimnis, Henri? (Does she know your secret, Henry?)"

Henry hesitated as he answered. "Yes…"

"That's a relief. We can talk more openly now." She took a seat behind her desk.

"I have met you before, haven't I?"

She smiled. "Oui. Te souviens tu? (Yes. Do you remember?)"

Henry shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

"1906, in Paris."

"That's right. The rue Mouffetard Market."

Alexis smiled. "I'm just like you."

Jo looked at Henry. "Henry, you said it was just you and Adam."

Alexis looked confused. "Who's Adam?"

"Another like us. And, Jo, I didn't know about Alexis." He turned to the young woman. "How did you know about me?"

"I looked you up in 1949. I expected to find a man in his seventies with a wife in her sixties sending your youngest son or daughter out into the world. What I found was a man who hadn't changed with a young wife and a toddler son. That's when I knew."

"You should have said something."

Alexis shook her head. "I didn't want to interrupt your life. You all looked so happy."

Henry sat across from her. "How long have you been alive?"

"I'm assuming you know of Jeanne d'Arc…"

"Are you…?"

Alexis laughed. "No, I'm not. I'm sure the stories of her death would be far more fantastical than they are if I were. I was a nurse in her army. Our 'hospital' was housed in a town near one of her less famous sieges. The town was captured and that's about as much as I like to say on the subject."

Henry was stunned. "That's over 700 years."

"Yes. Now that you know my story, what's yours?"

"I was killed in 1814 on board the Empress of Africa while trying to protect a slave."

Alexis smiled. "Aww, you're just a baby."

"Ms. Deverodova…"

"Henri, please. We're friends, which is why I will tell you that Alexis Deverodova is just the alias I'm using at the moment. My real name is Anneliese de Lyon."

Jo jumped in again. "Sorry to interrupt this little reunion, but we are here for police business."

Anneliese smiled. "Of course. Henri and I can talk later. What can I do for you?"

"One of your employees was found dead this morning. She's been dead for a couple days."

"You must be talking about Nicole. I've been calling her cell, but there's been no answer. She's dead?"

"Yes. Why didn't you call the authorities?"

Anneliese nodded. "She's disappeared for days at a time before. She usually calls at some point with a vague excuse, but... this time she didn't. I guess it makes sense now."

"What can you tell me about her work here?"

Anneliese sat back in her chair. "Everyone called her Nikki because she would get upset when you called her Nicole. I hired her initially as the receptionist, and then moved her to assistant decorator. No one liked her, unfortunately. They refused to work with her, so I moved her to Inventory. After that, she told anyone who would listen that her talents were being wasted here. She wanted to be a Planner, but she had no talent."

Henry leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

"Clients come in here with a vague party plan in mind and it is our job to make sure the day is executed perfectly. In planning simulations, Nikki would take the 'client's' ideas and throw them out the window. Make the party something she would want to attend. That's not what we do here. If the client wants a party with Captain America balloons and a clown in a Batman outfit, we find a way to give them what they want for the budget they have. Either she didn't get that, or didn't care."

Jo looked out the window at Alexis', _no, her name is Anneliese_ , view. "Why didn't you fire her?"

"Technically I can't. She made it very clear she would sue me for bias, either because of her sexual orientation or some personal prejudice because I wouldn't let her be a Planner; which is ridiculous of course. Currently, my best Planner is a gay, African-American male. But despite all that, in the end, I couldn't fire her. A lawsuit would be bad for business, but worse for me. I can't afford to have my past examined too closely. It might risk exposure for me." Anneliese looked at Henry. "I imagine you understand that fear quite well."

"Yes, I do." Henry took a paper from his pocket. "Does 'saulfvement' mean anything to you?"

Anneliese took the paper. "Wow. I haven't heard that word in over 400 years. It's Middle French. It means safely. Today you're more likely to hear 'sans risqué' or 'sans danger.'" She handed the paper back.

Jo took the paper. "Are we looking for another immortal?"

"Unlikely. You're looking for a linguist or a scholar. Someone who would have studied the evolution of the French Language." She paused. "Then again, the internet has all sorts of information. You're likely to find it there, if you're persistent in the search. Give me a minute." She turned to her computer.

"What are you…?"

"Here." Anneliese turned the screen around. "I searched 'Middle French words,' found a site that grouped them by suffix, and scrolled down the list."

"Seems random."

"That was the fastest way. If the killer is looking for the specific translation of a word, I'm sure it could be found another way."

"How do you know Middle French?" Jo handed the paper back to Henry.

"It's my first language. Middle French started evolving into Modern French around the 17th Century. Living through the transition was fascinating. You almost didn't notice the language was changing until it happened." Anneliese looked from Jo to Henry. "Is there anything else you need?"

Jo handed the immortal her card. "No, I think we're good... for now. We'll be in touch."

Henry stood and started to follow Jo out the door, but then he looked back. "One last question. How are you so adjusted to this time period?"

Anneliese held the door open. "When a new technology comes out, I study it and learn how to use it. It's the same way I lost my French and English accents. I work hard. You might want to try it, Henri."

Jo held out her hand. "Thank you for your time."

Anneliese shook Jo's hand. "My pleasure. Please, find the person who did this. Nikki and I may have had our differences, but I never wished her harm."

"We'll do our best."

Henry held out his hand. "We should talk again sometime."

Anneliese shook his hand. "I'd like that. And you know where to find me."

Henry kissed the back of her hand. "That I do."

Jo observed their interaction with a twinge of jealousy. "Henry, we need to go."

"Of course." Henry let go of Anneliese's hand. "Au revoir."

"Au revoir, Henri. Detective."

Jo waited until they were back in the car to confront him. "What was that back there?"

"What?"

"You, kissing her hand and all that."

Henry looked at Jo. "Are you jealous?"

"No." She'd said that too fast and rushed to recover. "She's a suspect, Henry."

"Because she knows Middle French."

"Everyone connected to the victim is a suspect until we can rule them out." Jo stopped at a light. "You shouldn't be flirting with a suspect. It's unprofessional."

"I can't help being excited that there is another immortal who doesn't seem psychotic."

"That we know of."

Henry sighed. "Perhaps. When I met Adam in the therapist's office, he didn't seem psychotic then. I didn't know who he was either. But she's different. She's good."

"I hope you're right. Just… stay away from her socially until we can rule her out." Jo started going when the light turned green.

"I will. But she didn't do this."

* * *

"So, wait… the party planner knows Middle French?" This was the second time Hanson had asked this question. He was apparently having a hard time processing this information.

On the way back to the precinct, Henry and Jo had come up with a simple lie to explain this. "She said she 'enjoys studying the evolution of languages, specifically French.' Once Henry shortens the T.O.D. window, we can ask her for an alibi."

"Is she as mean as Ms. Knight says?"

"Nope." Jo put Anneliese's, _no it's Alexis here; I have to remember that_ , picture on the board under the "Person of Interest" column. "She was charming and very nice. It seems Nikki had no talent for planning, but made a point to threaten a lawsuit if she was fired."

"What for?"

"Bias; either professional or claiming Alexis was homophobic."

"I see." Hanson scratched his head. "Did her coworkers like her?"

"Alexis or Nikki?"

"Nikki."

Jo shook her head. "She made their working environment miserable when she was in the office, which is why she was moved to the off-site inventory."

"What about Alexis?"

"Everyone seems to love working for her. She is hands-on and genuinely cares about what she's doing. She even seemed to care about Nikki. Which reminds me, has Nikki's phone been found yet?"

"Nope. The roommate gave me Nikki's number. I'm having tech try and run a trace on it." Hanson stood. "Uniforms are still looking for witnesses. I didn't get much from the people I talked to. I was gonna head back out soon; people are starting to come home for the evening."

Jo sat at her desk. "What did you get?"

"A neighbor thought she came home around 8pm on Friday, but no one was with her, and she doesn't remember seeing Nikki again after that. A different neighbor last saw Nikki leaving Thursday morning. That's all I have for her comings and goings so far."

"No one entered the apartment at other times?"

"Not that anyone saw or noticed."

"Huh." Jo's desk phone rang. "Detective Martinez, Homicide."

" _I'm ready to deliver my report if you and Detective Hanson would like to come down_."

"Sure, Henry. We'll be right there." She hung up. "Henry's ready for us."

* * *

 **A/N: There's another immortal. What will this mean for the story? We'll find out. Also, I had her ask Henry questions in two different languages (German and French) to help demonstrate that they are both well educated and traveled. Stay tuned!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, superlc529, and SSTrans for their reviews. KenH: Yes, the first question being in German was also for protection, you are correct. I was going to use French, but in most Romantic languages (French, Spanish, Italian, etc.) "secret" translates to "secret" (French and Romanian), "segreto/segredo" (Italian and Portuguese) or "secreto" (Spanish). It would have been too easy for Jo to guess what the question was if a Romantic language was used, hence the German. superlc529: I had no idea that the show's creator was going to introduce another immortal, and female as well, in Season 2. That's cool!**

 **This chapter starts right where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11

Hanson opened the door and held it open for Jo. "We're here, Doc. What do you got for us?"

"She was not suffocated." Henry stepped away from Lucas. "Ms. Day's blood work came back a few minutes ago and it was interesting. She had two different types of insulin in her blood. Tests are running on the syringe and insulin vials right now to see if we can figure out where the second insulin came from. All we know for sure is that there was insulin in the syringe."

"Two? Her prescription is only for one type. A rapid-acting one called Insulin," Hanson struggled with the name, "Glulisine?"

"Yes, it was. Also known as Apidra Subcutaneous." Henry handed Jo the report. "The other insulin she had in her system was called Insulin Glargine, also known as Lantus Subcutaneous, a long-acting insulin that is not supposed to be combined with others. With these two types of insulin in her bloodstream, she would have been in a near catatonic state almost instantly."

"And from there?"

Henry turned to Hanson. "From there, without medical intervention, it was only a matter of time before her body shut down. Death wouldn't have been quick, but because of diabetic shock, she wouldn't have been in pain."

"What about the burns? When did those happen?"

"That's why I mentioned pain. These were completed before her death. There are signs of vital response in the tissues, but no signs of a struggle. She'd already been injected with both types of insulin."

Jo rocked back onto her heels. "So, what happened?"

"I think the killer replaced the insulin in her vial with a concentrated mixture of the two. She came home, checked her sugar levels, and took what she thought was her prescription. While she was in diabetic shock, the killer burned her back with the word saulfvement."

Lucas turned around. "None of the vials were contaminated or improperly diluted."

"What?" Henry walked over to him. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know. That's just what the computer is saying."

"What about the insulin in the syringe?"

Lucas shrugged. "It's just her brand. She didn't inject herself with two types."

Henry straightened up. "That doesn't make sense." Realization crossed his features. "Unless the other one was given to her somewhere else."

Hanson looked at Jo. "Like where, at work?"

"That depends on when she left work. Lantus is a long-acting insulin. It takes approximately an hour to an hour and a half for the insulin to fully enter the system. Apidra, on the other hand, is a rapid-acting insulin and can enter the bloodstream in as quickly as fifteen minutes. Nikki was injecting herself with a rapid acting insulin, which tells me that her blood sugar levels were elevated when she returned home."

Jo thought about the last time Nikki clocked out of work. "Well, we know Nikki left work before 6pm that day. And a neighbor said she saw Nikki get home around 8pm, so she was injected with the other type of insulin somewhere in that window. Do you know what her time of death window is?"

Lucas handed Henry a sheet of paper. "Here, the test results just came in."

Henry took the page and glanced at it. "T.O.D. appears to be between 7pm and 11pm two days before she was found."

Jo turned to Hanson. "We need to figure out where she was before she went home."

Hanson nodded. "Maybe her killer was following her."

"Start with the Lotus Club. Lucas tells me this is their club stamp." Henry handed Jo a picture of Nikki's hand where a design was illuminated with a black light. "Her blood work also suggests she had been drinking that night. Her blood alcohol level was 0.05. Within the legal limit, but alcohol and diabetes don't mix well."

* * *

Hanson and Jo went into the club well before it opened for the night. "These places always look different in the day. A lot less cool."

Jo went up to the man in the center of the room. "Excuse me..."

"We're not open yet, sweetheart. Jimmy, get your ass out here! This light is still broken!"

Jo held up her badge. "We're not here for the night life."

"Sorry, I thought you were the third groupie to come in today. What can I do for you?"

"When do you open?"

The manager led them to one of the VIP tables. "4pm We start with the Happy Hour crowd, then close for a couple hours around 7pm so we can be ready for the night club scene."

Hanson sat down. "How well do you know the Happy Hour crowd?"

"Not well, but we do have surveillance. Why? What happened?"

"Two days ago, a young woman was in here. She was murdered a few hours later." Jo gestured to one of the hidden cameras she'd noticed. "We're going to need to see the tapes."

"Sure. The monitor is upstairs." The manager led the way as they went upstairs. "I just want you to know, I had nothing to do with a murder."

"We don't think your establishment had anything to do with it. This may have just been where she met her assailant." Jo held up a picture. "This is who we're looking for."

"Okay." He sat down and pulled up the footage. Just after 6pm, Nikki walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. She sat nursing it for a while before a guy walked up to her and started to hit on her. She brushed him off quickly and he looked irritated. Jo had the manager stop the video and took a picture of the man. They resumed watching the video, focusing on Nikki's behavior.

A few minutes after the man left the victim's side, a woman approached Nikki and put a soft hand on her shoulder. Nikki accepted the woman's company and they spoke for several minutes before the woman flagged down the bartender and ordered more drinks for the pair. When they arrived, the woman put her hands over the glasses and handed one to Nikki. The drinks looked to be the same, but Jo had a bad feeling.

"Pause it." Jo leaned in closer. "Is there a way to get a closer look?"

"This is one of the best systems out there. It'll do whatever you want it to."

He zoomed in on the glasses and rewound the play back to the moment they arrived. The woman's hands covered the tops of the glasses and the one that Nikki would receive suddenly looked slightly different for a few seconds until the woman gently shook the glass as she handed it to Nikki. Jo had the manager replay that part of the tape in slow motion.

"She put something in the drink. Not a powder, some sort of liquid."

Hanson nodded. "Maybe it's that long-acting insulin that Henry was talking about."

"Maybe. Zoom out. Let's see if this lady ever shows her face to the camera."

Nikki enjoyed her drink with the woman and seemed to be okay for a while, but as the woman moved to order more drinks, Nikki shook her head and stood up. She reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet to pay for the drink she'd ordered. Her hands were shaking and she dropped her wallet. The woman quickly grabbed it and handed it back to her. Nikki pulled out some money and put it under her glass. She was turning to leave when the woman touched Nikki's shoulder again and then kissed her on the lips. Nikki reciprocated the kiss and then walked away, staggering slightly. Jo was expecting the woman to pay and follow Nikki, but she just returned to the bar and ordered another drink. They watched the woman receive her drink, then pay for the bill in cash before the bartender walked away.

That's when Jo noticed what was in the woman's hands. "She took Nikki's ID."

Hanson nodded. "I can see that. Nikki was killed by this woman?"

The woman pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. "Looks like she wasn't working alone. Can we zoom in on the numbers and see who she called?"

The manager rewind the footage and zoomed in on the keypad. "212-555-8719."

Hanson wrote it down. "I'll see if tech can trace it." He walked a few steps away to make the call.

The woman ended her call, finished her drink, and left the bar. "Damn, she doesn't show her face. It's like she knows where the cameras are. Go back to just before she leaves."

"Okay."

Jo had him zoom in on the woman's back. "That looks like the top of a tattoo." She took a picture of the tattoo and thanked the manager for his time while giving him her card.

"No problem. I'll scan more of my security tapes. If I find this woman's face, I'll let you know. If she's slipping stuff into people's drinks, she's bad for business."

Jo met back up with Hanson as his call came to a close. "All right. Thanks. Tech says the number belongs to a burner phone."

"Of course it does. The woman never shows her face, but the top of a tattoo was visible on her back. We could check the tattoo database to see if there's anything."

* * *

Jo and Hanson went to tech when they returned to the precinct and had one of the analysts run the face of the man who had hit on Nikki through the system for a name. A driver's license image for Arthur Jefferson came up and Hanson called some uniforms in to pick him up. The analyst then ran the tattoo photo through the database, but no images came in.

"Sorry, Detective. This tattoo hasn't been put in our database yet."

"Thanks for running it. Add this photo to the database; someone might add more info soon." Jo was hoping so at least.

"You got it."

"Uniforms are headed to Jefferson's place to bring him in." Hanson returned to the computer. "Anything on the tattoo?"

"No." Jo turned back to the analyst. "Can you run this in a wider database?"

"I have friends working for the FBI and Interpol. I can ask them to run it through their systems, but it'll take time."

"Please do. And let us know what they find."

"Okay."

Jo and Hanson headed back to the bullpen. "So two people were working together to kill Nicole Day. Why? What did she do?"

"Maybe it was a couple people from her job who just got tired of working with her."

"But what does 'saulfvement' mean to the killer? Why burn it onto her back?"

Hanson shrugged. "Safely means something to them. Why couldn't they just use that? Why use Middle French?"

Jo shook her head. "We have too many questions right now."

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, superlc529 and SSTrans for their reviews. KenH: Languages fascinate me, even though I'm rubbish at learning them. As for the insulin, a non-diabetic receiving an insulin shot would have a similar reaction (lowering of blood-sugar levels), though their body would be better equipped to counter the effects in the long term. The combination in Nikki's system would most likely be fatal though. superlc529: Questions do lead to answers, though Henry and Abraham don't know the tattoo, sorry.**

 **I'm sorry for the tardiness of this chapter. I've been a little under the weather lately and completely spaced out on posting this, but here it is. This chapter starts with a flashback. I do apologize to any readers who speak/understand French out there. The conversation was converted into French by Google Translate. If it is inaccurate or far too formal/casual, it is Google's fault. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 12

 _Henry walked into the street market, looking to purchase something he could make for tonight's dinner. Let's see. Potatoes, carrots, and onion; these would go nicely with the roast beef he had in his apartment icebox. Add a little salt, pepper, and garlic, and he would have a lovely stew tonight. Henry made his purchases from his favorite stalls and then wandered around the market for anything of interest. Vendors called out to him, trying to pull his interest to their stall. He was looking at a stall selling ties when someone bumped into him._

" _Désolé, monsieur. Je ne vous vois pas là."_ _(Sorry, sir. I did not see you there.)_

" _Ne pas se soucier. Je suis sûr que faute était à moi."_ _(Not to worry. I'm sure the fault was mine.)_

 _The woman looked at him curiously. "Vous êtes Anglais?" (You are English?)_

 _Henry smiled. "Oui. Je m'appelle Docteur Henry Morgan." (Yes. My name is Dr. Henry Morgan.)_

" _Bonjour, Henri. Je m'appelle Marie Fontaine." (Hello, Henry. My name is Marie Fontaine.)_

 _Henry held out his hand. "Mademoiselle Fontaine. Je suis ravi de vous rencontrer." (Ms. Fontaine. I am very pleased to meet you.)_

 _Marie shook his hand delicately._ _"Il est plaisir de vous rencontrer._ _Votre français est très bon." (It is nice to meet you. Your French is very good.)_

" _Mais pas mon accent, je suis sûr. Je me demandais si quelqu'un pourrait me aider l'améliorer." (Though not my accent, I'm sure. I was wondering if someone would be able to help me improve it.)_

 _Marie seemed to consider that for a moment. "Je pourrais aider. Si vous acceptez mes excuses pour cogner plus tôt." (I might be able to help with that. If you accept my apologies for bumping into you earlier.)_

 _Henry inclined his head. "J'accepte vos excuses. Voulez-vous joindre à moi pour dîner ce soir? Nous pourrions commencer mes leçons." (I accept your apologies. Would you like to join me for dinner tonight? We could begin my lessons.)_

" _Ce serait belle. Où vais-je vous rencontrer?" (That would be lovely. Where will I meet you?)_

" _Rendez-vous ici. Est six heures, un bon moment pour vous?" (Let's meet back here. Is six o'clock a good time for you?)_

" _Je serai là." (I will be here.)_

Henry sat back in his office chair, thinking of the first time he had met Anneliese de Lyon. She had gone by Marie Jacqueline Fontaine then. Apparently, after seven hundred years, she had become quite comfortable with living under assumed names. Henry had only changed his surname in the past. This habit started when he had enlisted to serve as a medic so the records wouldn't catch him in a lie. Anneliese went all the way with false names and a public life.

He wanted to talk to Anneliese some more, but Jo had made him promise to avoid contact until they could verify that she wasn't responsible. He had so many questions about her life and how she had come to accept her curse the way she had. She had lived for more than seven hundred years. There was so much she had seen, so many lives she had lived. She'd mentioned having to work hard to lose accents and learn the technologies of the day. How much had she learned over the years?

Jo knocked on the door as she opened it. "May I come in?"

"Of course."

"We went to the club Nikki went to before she went home. It looks like two people were involved in her death. A woman slipped something into Nikki's drink. We can't get the glass."

"It was washed days ago."

"Right."

Henry nodded. "So we don't know what she slipped into the drink."

"No. There was a man who hit on Nikki at the bar, but I just came from talking to him. He didn't kill her. When he saw Nikki kissing the woman who approached her a few minutes later, he realized she had brushed him off because she was gay. Plus he has an alibi." Jo watched Henry for a moment. "You were thinking about Anneliese."

"I have so many questions. There are so many things I want to know."

"It didn't seem like she wanted to talk about how she died the first time."

Henry shook his head. "There's more I want to know than that. She's lived through seven hundred years of history. The things she's seen and done. I'm excited to ask her about all of that."

"I can imagine." Jo shook her head. "So, what determines who becomes immortal? Why you, Anneliese, and 'Adam'?"

"There are some similarities between all of us. All three of us were trying to save a life. For me, it was the life of a man destined to become a slave. Adam tried to save Julius Caesar. Anneliese's job was to save the lives of fallen soldiers."

"Two of you were in medicine."

"Adam may have been as well. I'm not sure if he was. I don't know that much about his life in Rome."

"Those can't be the only qualifications. Thousands would be immortal at that rate." Jo pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Hanson's calling. Martinez. Yes. We'll be right there."

"After you." Henry stood and followed Jo out of the morgue.

Hanson was putting on his suit coat when Jo and Henry got up to the bullpen. "Another body was found in Brooklyn."

* * *

They arrived at the apartment building and went to the right floor, then followed the line of officers and crime scene techs to the apartment. An older lady in a housekeeping uniform was speaking to one of the officers. Everyone signed into the crime scene log and pulled on gloves to examine the home. Henry went straight through the living room to the bedroom where the body was. Once there, he began his exam while Jo watched.

"Was her back burned too?"

Henry gently lifted the victim's shirt. "Yes." He took the paper with saulfvement on it out of his pocket. "I don't know this word either. C-O-U-S-T-A-B-L-E."

Hanson walked in. "Oh, Doc, say it ain't so. Something you don't know? What is this world coming to?"

"I know a great many things, but not everything."

"So, besides the burns, what do you see?" Jo wanted to get back to the task at hand.

Henry knelt next to the body on the bed. "Just like with Ms. Day, there doesn't appear to be ligature marks on her arms or neck, so we can rule out strangulation and restraints. No petechiae this time, so she wasn't suffocated."

Jo looked at Hanson. "Did the landlord know her well?"

"No. I'll put in a request for her financial and phone records."

Henry looked up. "I will request her medical records as well to see if someone used something in there to kill her."

"Like they did with Nikki." Jo looked at the victim. "Needle marks?"

"No. This one is a bit of a mystery. No signs of trauma externally." Henry turned the victim's head and they heard a crunching/grating sound. "Found it. Her neck appears to have been broken."

"That takes some strength." Hanson held up his phone. "Her name is Angela Castin. She's 27 and worked for Events by Stana until a year ago when she quit to start her own company. That company went belly up a few months ago. I looked her up."

"That's the second time Events by Stana has come up. Is it a connection that the killer or killers is using to target his victims?"

"Maybe you and Henry should visit Ms. Deverodova again."

"Ms. Deverodova may be able to give us some insight into Ms. Castin's life." Henry stood. "I'll get to work on her autopsy as soon as her body has arrived at the morgue."

* * *

Jo walked into the lobby of Events by Stana alone. It's not that she didn't want Henry to come, but she felt that she would get more out of Anneliese if he wasn't there to go down memory lane. The receptionist wasn't there and many of the lights were out on the floor. Jo walked by the front desk and out onto the raised ringway to look at the floor. Anneliese was crossing the floor, turning off lights as she went.

She looked up. "Detective. You caught me just before I locked up. Did you have more questions for me?"

"Why are you locking up so early?"

Anneliese smiled. "The office closes up at this time because right about now is the time when most events start. My planners are setting up or running the event they're in charge of. So, how can I help you? More questions?"

"Yes. Another body turned up. Name was Angela Castin."

Anneliese had draped her coat over the back of a chair. The second victim's name had her sinking into it. "What? When?"

"She was found a few hours ago. We don't have a time of death yet. Which reminds me: where were you between 7 and 11pm on Friday night?"

"Returning from London. I was there for a convention of sorts. My plane landed at JFK at 11:15. I'll make sure to get you copies of my documents. This is unbelievable."

Jo sat across from the immortal. "Why did Castin leave your company? Was there a dispute?"

"No, it was nothing like that. She wanted to start her own company. I fully supported that." Anneliese shook her head. "Why would someone hurt her?"

"Where are you glad when her company failed?"

"Detective, you have to understand. I am not a heartless monster. I supported her decision to make a name for herself. I told her the best way to get into this business was to start elsewhere, get big there, and then try to enter the New York market. This city already has dozens of event planning companies. Most new ones get crushed in months. She wanted to start big and it didn't work out."

"When was the last time you spoke to her?"

"Early last week. I've been working on creating a new subdivision for my company for a few months now and when her business failed, I reached out because I wanted Angela to run it. She was my best planner before she left and I was eager to get her back."

Jo's eyebrows contracted. "But her company failed."

"It didn't fail from a lack of managerial talent. It failed because she didn't want to leave New York City. With a little direction, she would make... would have made a fantastic contribution to this company. I have no doubt of that."

Jo nodded. "A word was burned onto her back as well. C-O-U-S-T-A-B-L-E."

"Coustable. That's Middle French well. It means expensive. Modern translation would be 'cher' or 'coûteux.'"

Jo shook her head. "Why is someone targeting you or your company? Who knows you speak Middle French?"

"The six men I married knew. They knew everything about me. But the last one died over a hundred years ago. Then there's you and Henry and whomever you've told. Beyond that, I can't think of anyone."

"You've been married six times?"

Anneliese smiled. "I've had seven hundred years to do so. It shouldn't be that surprising."

Jo nodded; it really shouldn't have been. "I lost my husband two years ago. Heart attack."

"I'm sorry. It's never easy to love someone and lose them like that. I take it the cause of his death was unexpected."

Jo nodded, a tear slipping down her face. "He was 37 and in D.C. for his job. I thought he was coming home soon. And then I got the call. Becoming friends with Henry has helped me recover a lot."

"I see the way you look at him. It's subtle, and most would miss it, but you really care for him. I won't try to steal him from you. Henry should be with the woman he loves, not the most logical choice. You don't have competition from me."

Jo's brow creased. "What? Henry and I are just friends."

"I know. But if you and he wanted more of a relationship, I just want you to know I won't stand in your way." Anneliese stood. "I'll grab those documents."

Jo stood and watched Anneliese return to her office. She'd always assumed that Henry was the most perceptive person she knew, but this woman was giving him a run for his money. She'd had over seven hundred years to study human behavior and she'd picked up on Jo's attraction to Henry in just a couple interactions. Jo wasn't even sure if she wanted to be in a real relationship yet; her husband's death was still fresh and painful in her mind. Was she ready to move on? She'd been reluctant to start dating Isaac, and while it had been fun, she'd never really committed to the relationship.

Anneliese returned with the documents. "Here you are."

"Thank you. We'll be in touch." Jo walked out, feeling the immortal's eyes on her, the question still on her mind.

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank superlc529, KenH, phnxgrl, and SSTrans for their reviews. KenH: I'm feeling much better now, thank you. We shall discover the killer's intentions in due time. superlc529: If Henry is as good at reading people as he is in just 200 years, it only made sense to make Anneliese be just as good, if not better. I'm glad you liked that detail. And I agree, banter from Hanson is always fun.**

 **This chapter starts about an hour after the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13

"You shouldn't have gone alone."

"Hanson..."

"No, Jo, she's a person of interest. If she is the killer, she could have killed you."

Jo stopped at her desk. "I'm not helpless, Mike. I can take care of myself."

"I'm not doubting that. I'm just saying you should have had someone there to watch your back." Hanson took a deep breath. "What'd you get from her?"

Jo held up the papers. "She was on a plane coming back from London when Nikki was killed. She gave me the documents to prove it. I already had the crime lab check them out. They're real."

"How'd she take the news about Castin?"

"She was stunned. Apparently she was talking to Castin about bringing her in to run a subdivision of Events by Stana. They talked earlier in the week."

"What about the word? Cowsta... Coostabale?" Hanson was struggling to pronounce the word.

"It is Middle French as well and means expensive."

Hanson turned to the board. "So... safely and expensive. Are these a commentary on the company? Or maybe what these women were within the company?"

"As in Nikki was 'safely' tucked away at the Inventory facility and Castin was 'expensive' for the company?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Jo shrugged. "Maybe. It's hard to tell without more information." Her phone buzzed. "Lucas says Henry's ready for us."

* * *

Henry looked up when Jo and Hanson walked in. "Her broken neck was her cause of death, but she was drugged before that. Mivacurium chloride. It is a muscle relaxant, which is commonly known as a paralytic."

Jo looked disgusted. "Tell me she was dead when her back was burned."

"No, she wasn't. There is a vital response in the tissues at the site of the burn."

"Could she feel it? You know, considering the paralyzing drug?"

"Yes, she could. Paralytics only makes it impossible to move. They do not numb or block physical pain. In surgery, a paralytic is combined with a general anesthetic. That is why you don't move or feel pain during a surgery. Ms. Castin only had a paralytic in her system, which means she felt all of it if she didn't pass out before it was over."

Hanson pulled a face. "Sorry I asked."

"Time of death?"

Henry nodded. "This morning. Her stomach contents include oatmeal with raisins and coffee. There were also the remains of a multivitamin tablet..."

"That was actually a chalky exterior around a small liquid capsule filled with the paralytic." Lucas brought over a picture of a tablet. "Stomach acid eats away the exterior and opens the liquid capsule."

Hanson pointed at the photo. "How do you know it was like this?"

"CSU collected a pill that had been dropped under the kitchen counter."

Henry nodded. "It appears the multivitamin bottle is missing. The killer, or killers, presumably took it with them."

Jo turned to look at the victim. "So she dropped a pill when she went to take it."

"Lucky for us she didn't find it." Hanson looked at Henry. "Hey Doc, how much force does it take to break someone's neck?"

"That all depends on the technique used. Another set of data I don't have." Henry handed Jo a folder. "This is my report. Shall we go speak with Alexis Deverodova?"

"I already went to see her." Jo tucked the folder under her arm.

"I see. Well, I think I will go home then. Abe had a coffee date today. I'm hoping it went well." He turned to go to his office.

Jo turned to Hanson. "Take this upstairs for me?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." Jo followed Henry into his office. "Henry, I know you wanted to see her again..."

"Yes, I did." Henry turned to face Jo. "But I understand why you didn't bring me along. You didn't want us to go off on tangents and take a long time to get the information you needed. At least, that's what I'm hoping this was."

"Yeah. That's what it was. And I think you were right. She had an alibi for Nikki's death and was working on bringing Castin back into her company. I don't think Alexis... Anneliese... is responsible for these murders." Jo looked at Henry. "Are we okay?"

Henry smiled. "Yes. We are fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

"Abraham. How did your coffee date go?" Henry went up the stairs. "Abraham?"

"Oh, Henry, hey. A friend of yours dropped by. I thought I knew all your friends."

Anneliese turned and smiled at Henry. "Somehow I doubt you've met all the friends he's had."

Abraham looked at her. "Wait, are you...?"

"Like Henry? Yes, I'm immortal too. How are you, Henry? We didn't get to talk much earlier."

"Congrats, Pops. It's not just you and a psychopath."

Henry sat in his chair. "How did you find me?"

"Henry, I've found you once before. What makes you think I wouldn't find you again? Your son has grown up. And I'm sorry about Abigail. I know the pain of losing someone you love that much."

"Thank you. I was thinking about the first time I met you today. Asking you to teach me to speak French better. I never got the chance to thank you for that."

"Siete i benvenuti. (You are very welcome.)" Anneliese smiled, then her smile drooped. "I wish our reunion didn't have to be under such unfortunate circumstances. First Nicole and then Angela. Both with Middle French words burned on their bodies."

"Do you have any idea what this is all about?"

"I don't. Believe me, if I did, I would have said something when Detective Martinez came by as I was locking up."

Henry turned to Abraham. "I'm sorry, Abe. We're forgetting all about you. How was your date today?"

"It wasn't a date." Abe thought for a moment and then nodded. "I think it went well. She is just as wonderful as I remembered."

"That's good. Is an official date in the works?"

"Maybe. Not yet though. I don't want to push it. It's still a little soon."

Anneliese smiled. "Who is this?"

"Fawn Mahoney. Well, Fawn Ames now. She was my first kiss. I swore I was going to marry her someday, but then we had to move and that plan ended." Abraham stood. "I'll let you two talk."

"Abraham, you don't have to go." Henry stood.

"Pops, its fine. I need to go to the market anyway. Besides, I don't want to be a third wheel."

Anneliese stood. "It was wonderful to meet you, Abraham."

"You too. I'll see you later."

Henry headed for the kitchen. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you. Your son was a very gracious host." Anneliese took a seat at the table.

"Tell me about your life. When did you learn to accept your inability to die?"

"Hmm, good question. I think it was around 1650. I was in London by then. I'd been in England for fifty years, traveling through different cities, losing my French accent. My second husband had died ten years earlier. I remember wishing then that I could die too, you know? I wanted to avoid the pain of watching someone I loved die young. Ten years later, I realized I've fallen in love twice already. And as much as it hurt to lose them both, the time I had with them had been wonderful."

Henry sat across from her. "So you decided to live with the memories of the life you shared instead of dwell on the pain of their deaths."

"Yes. I've been married six times now. Each time one of them died, of course it hurt. But dwelling on that would have crippled me. I had to learn to let it go."

"I'm still working on that."

Anneliese touched his hand. "You have a lot of time to work on it."

"Yes, I know." Henry sighed. "It still hurts."

"The first is always the hardest. The second can be just as hard. But you'll get there. I know how much you loved Abigail."

Henry smiled sadly. "She accepted my... condition without any trouble when she found out. I tried to leave her a couple times to make our pain less, but she wouldn't let me. It wasn't until 1985 that she left me to avoid being thought of as my mother. I found out what happened to her a little over six months ago."

Anneliese looked sympathetic. "What happened?"

"Adam. He was in an accident and he begged the nurse to kill him so he could be reborn in a healed body. The nurse..."

"...was Abigail."

"Yes. She didn't react the way most he'd told did and he realized she knew someone like him. He killed himself and then tracked her down to force her to take him to me. On the way, she crashed the car they were in, trying to kill him. Unfortunately, it didn't work and he revived her, so she took the dagger he had on him and killed herself to protect me. He still found me, but it took him almost thirty years."

Anneliese shook her head. "I'm sorry. I wish things had ended differently."

"Moi aussi." (Me too.)

"At least you know she still loved you in the end." Anneliese checked her watch and stood. "I have to go. Prep for an event I'm in charge of should be wrapping up soon. I should be there."

"We should talk again." Henry stood as well. "I would love to get to know you better."

"And I you." Anneliese kissed Henry on his cheeks. "I'll see myself out."

* * *

Anneliese opened the door to her loft style apartment and disarmed her alarm. She then kicked the door shut behind her and pulled off her coat. The event has been a wonderful success, as usual, and she was tired. She hung up her coat in the closet by the door and placed her purse and keys on the table just outside it. _A shower and some hot cocoa would just hit the spot_. She headed for the stairs.

Her assailant struck her from behind with a lot of force. Something hard hit the back of her head and she was knocked out. When she came to, she was face down on her bed with her shirt cut open along the back. She also couldn't move. The curling iron she almost never used was on her nightstand and the light was on. As she stared at it, a masked man picked it up and took it out of her line of sight.

He touched the curling iron to her back and she screamed, but the sound was muffled by the ward of fabric in her mouth. Anneliese realized her attacker was the same man who had attacked the other women and she tried to concentrate on the letters he was branding into her back. _B-R-I-È-F-V-E-T-É. Brevity. Safely, expensive, brevity. What do these words have to do with us?_ The pain clouded her mind and she passed out again.

When Anneliese woke up again, she'd been turned over and dressed in pajamas. The paralytic was still in effect. Her attacker, still wearing a mask, was laying at her side, gently caressing her face. She smelled his cologne. _It seems familiar. I've met him before; where was it?_ She couldn't remember. Her vision was getting blurry and her eyelids were drooping. She looked down at herself.

Blood was everywhere. He had stabbed her at least five times. He kissed her on the cheek and stood up. The knife pierced her skin again and burned a path of pain through her. In the distance, the front door opened and then shut. _Debbie!_ Anneliese had forgotten that her friend was coming over to plan a surprise party for their friend Evanna. The man standing over her yanked the knife from her body and rushed to the door.

"Alexis?! Are you here?! I have a couple ideas for the surprise party!" Anneliese heard Debbie's purse get set on the counter before a scream pierced the air. The scream was cut short and a body hit the ground as the front door opened and then slammed shut.

Anneliese closed her eyes. "Requiem æternam dona ei Domine; et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace, amen." (Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace, amen.) As she said amen, she passed out again.

Not long after she passed out, uniforms burst into the apartment with their guns drawn. The blood pool, arterial blood spatter in the kitchen, and glassy eyes of the woman by the breakfast bar said it was too late for the paramedics to help her. They cleared the first floor and then swept upstairs to check the upper level too. The first bedroom was set up like a craft room and was empty. The second bedroom had a woman on the bed. As they got closer, they could see her injuries. She needed medical help. Now.

* * *

 **A/N: And there is the third , Italian, and fourth, Latin, languages from Anneliese. I'm thinking that in the 700+ years that she's been alive, she would have learned around 12 languages by now. Stay tuned!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Thunderstrike16, phnxgrl, KenH, and superlc529 for their reviews. superlc529: Usually (in crime shows anyway), a paralytic is used by a killer who doesn't have an ability to control their victim by their presence or physical strength alone, or at least doubts their ability. So that could be his problem. The paralytic wasn't needed with Nikki because of her diabetes; the two insulin products in her system created the same effect.** **Many reveals are in this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 14

Jo was relaxing at home with a movie and popcorn. This case had been getting under her skin, so she'd decided to take her mind off of it for a little while with an old classic. Julie Andrews' singing in _The Sound of Music_ always seemed to take her mind off of tough cases like this one. She could just listen to the Von Trapps learn to love life through song and let the stress of her day melt away. Kind of like how the chocolate chips were melting in her popcorn.

The movie was just getting to the "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" number when her phone rang. "Martinez."

" _It's Hanson. We got a call about another attack and a body. What are you watching?_ "

Jo paused the movie. "Nothing. When did the call come in?"

" _Twenty minutes ago._ " Jo checked her watch and saw that is was just after 11pm. " _I think the call may have been from the killer._ " Hanson rattled of an address in SoHo. " _I already called Henry and uniforms are at the scene._ "

"I'll see you there." Jo hung up and looked at her popcorn sadly. "So much for this."

* * *

Henry walked into the apartment behind Jo, looking around. It was a modern style loft apartment. The first floor opened into a living room. The kitchen was to the left with a breakfast bar rising above an "L" shaped island. The cabinets had frosted glass doors and the fridge was a chef's style, large and split right down the middle. To the right of the front door was an office separated from the living room by a set of shelves that were open to both sides.

The body was on the floor at the base of the breakfast bar. "Her throat was severed." Henry stood as close as he could without stepping in the blood. "It looks like one clean cut."

Detective Hanson held up the victim's ID. "Deborah Sidle. She had a key to the apartment, but her address is three buildings over. I'm guessing she was a friend of Ms. Deverodova."

Henry looked up. "This apartment belongs to Alexis Deverodova?"

"Yeah. She was attacked down here first and then taken upstairs and stabbed. She's in surgery right now. Paramedics said she has burns on her back."

"Ms. Sidle must have come in during the attack."

Jo picked up a cellphone and woke it up. "It looks like she managed to call 911 before she was killed."

Henry went to the stairs and turned toward the kitchen. "The killer was upstairs with Ms. Deverodova when Ms. Sidle comes in. She goes to the kitchen and puts her things down. Maybe she sees him coming downstairs…"

Jo nodded. "She grabs her phone and calls 911..."

Henry came back to the kitchen, "but the killer slit her throat and runs out the door before she can say anything. I listened to the 911 call on the way over. The recording only had retreating footsteps audible."

Hanson nodded. "Yeah, I figured Deborah wasn't the target. Hey, Doc, you should take a look upstairs. See if you can see something CSU might miss."

Jo headed for the stairs behind Henry. "I haven't seen it yet either."

They went upstairs and followed the camera flashes to find the right room. Blood was all over the bed. A curling iron was on the nightstand and the smell of burnt flash was strong in the air. _Her back really has been burned_. Henry wondered what Middle French word they would have this time. He could imagine how much pain Anneliese would have been in and how she must have feared he would go far enough to kill her and see her secret.

Jo seemed to sense his thoughts. "She made it to the hospital. She'll be okay."

"I hope so." Henry took a closer look at the room, but nothing jumped out at him. "We should go back downstairs."

Hanson looked up as they came back down. "Find anything?"

"No." Henry looked at the victim. "I would assume the killer wore gloves here as well. He is careful. Ms. Sidle surprised him and he acted rashly."

Jo looked around the loft again. "I'm going to head to the hospital. Are you coming, Henry?"

"Yes. Lucas can get Ms. Sidle's body transported to the morgue."

Hanson put away his notebook. "I'll canvass the building with some uniforms. See if anyone saw anything. I'll get the building's security footage too. Maybe we'll finally get a look at this guy."

* * *

Anneliese made it out of surgery and was set up in a private recovery room with a uniformed guard at the door. Jo and Henry took seats inside to wait. The doctor came in soon after and explained the immortal's condition. She had been stabbed seven times. Each wound has been made by slowly pressing the knife into her body instead of quickly thrusting it in. She had also been burned on her back with the letters B-R-I-È-F-V-E-T-É.

The doctor handed Henry the medical file and left the room. Henry looked at the pictures first. The stab wounds were spread out across her torso. As Henry compared the doctor's notes with the pictures, he could understand how Anneliese had survived. With the slow push of the knife, her organs and major blood vessels had actually moved out of the way. She had still lost a lot of blood, but not a fatal amount.

Henry passed the photographs of the stab wounds to Jo. "She is very fortunate to be alive, but that might have been intentional. He wanted to prolong the experience."

"What do you think brièfveté means?"

Henry looked at the picture of the burns on Anneliese's back. "I'm not sure." The burns stretched diagonally across her back from her left shoulder to her right hip. If she wore anything that revealed the back of her shoulders, the burns would be visible. "The burns look just like the ones on the other victims. If I had to guess, this looks like brièveté. It means brevity."

Jo looked up. "Safely, expensive, brevity. Why those words? What is the killer trying to say? Hanson and I had a theory that Nikki was 'safely' tucked away in Inventory where she could do less damage, and Angela may have been 'expensive' for the company."

Henry passed Jo the picture of the burns. "Anneliese was struck in the back of the head. That's how she was incapacitated."

"CSU had bagged a statuette before you came in. He probably used that." She shook her head. "She went through so much pain. I hope she was unconscious for most of it."

"As do I."

Jo pulled out her phone and did a few web searches. "You were right. Brièfveté means brevity. For once the word isn't too different from the translation."

Henry stood and looked at Anneliese's vitals. "These machines would have made practicing medicine so much easier a hundred years ago. I remember practicing without them." He glanced over at Jo and saw Hanson was walking in. "This was during a History of Medicine class at Oxford. I can't imagine how doctors were able to do their jobs in the 1800's."

Hanson took Henry's vacated seat. "Wasn't aware they had medicine classes like that."

"It was something the professor wanted to try that semester to give the students a better appreciation for Modern Medicine."

"How's Deverodova doing?"

"Her pulse is strong." Henry was taking Anneliese's pulse at her wrist. "I believe she'll make a full recovery."

"You know the machines could tell you that?" Hanson was looking at Henry with an eyebrow raised.

"There's a difference between a machine beeping and experience. I've seen patients where the machine was beeping like this and their pulse was weaker than hers is."

"What happened to them?"

"They had to return to the O.R. for internal bleeding problems." Henry leaned against the wall. "I don't think Ms. Deverodova will need that attention. She should be able to recover."

Henry and Jo spent the next several minutes catching Hanson up on the injuries Alexis had sustained. They then waited a long time for Anneliese to wake up. When it became clear Anneliese wasn't going to be coming around for a while, Hanson decided to go back to the precinct. Henry told Jo more about working with very little in the way of modern medicine's wonders.

Jo smiled. "I'm glad I live in this time then. I might not have survived getting shot on our first case together."

"It's very possible. Bullet wounds are still tricky today. A hundred years ago they were highly fatal. If the wound didn't kill you, the infection you might catch could."

Jo laughed lightly. "Hanson just about caught you admitting to being over a hundred years old. You were quick with that story."

Henry grinned. "I've had a lot of practice."

"I'm sure you have." She looked at Anneliese. "I don't think she's going to be waking up soon."

"No, she won't. The pain medication is set for a high dosage right now. I wanted to see, though. Some wake up despite the dosage."

Jo stood. "Let's go. You can talk to her doctor again on the way out."

* * *

Jo drove back to the precinct and Henry went straight to the morgue to begin the autopsy of Debora Sidle. He had left the medical report with Jo and she took it up to the homicide floor. Hanson was going over the security footage from Anneliese's building. Jo shook her head as she sat at her desk. She was very cautious about referring to Anneliese/Alexis by name. She was afraid of letting the wrong name slip out.

Henry didn't seem to have that problem. It might have something to do with the fact that he had lived for so long and probably had lived under several different aliases by now. Keeping several different identities straight was probably second nature by now. She wondered what living forever would be like. Watching the world change in so many ways over the years and having the time to learn so much. It had to be great.

But it was probably very lonely. Watching the people you know and care for pass away while you stayed frozen in time physically was heartbreaking enough. Add in having your loved ones betray you and you would be cautious. Henry had talked about what Nora had done to him. He must have lived in fear of the wrong people figuring out his secret and doing horrible things to him. Apparently he had been experimented on before; Jo didn't know all the details on that.

Hanson looked over at Jo. "Everything okay?"

Jo mentally shook herself. "I'm just trying to figure out what the words mean to the killer. I have a theory I'd like to check."

She woke up her computer. Angela and expensive was bothering her. Being expensive for the company didn't make sense. Events by Stana created events in all price ranges. Angela's employee file did indicate that she had put together expensive events, but her clients had been some of the wealthiest people in New York. Expensive parties just made sense. That had to be another reason she had been labeled expensive.

Jo googled Angela Castin and ignored all the results for Events by Stana and Castin Events. On the third page of results, she came across a news article mentioning a lawsuit the victim had filed. It was against a man named Justin Blakeshaw and the suit was about sexual harassment. He had worked at Events by Stana as well. Jo pulled up the court documents and started to read.

"Hey, Hanson. I think I've got something."

Hanson came over. "What is it?"

"Angela Castin filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Blakeshaw. He worked at Events by Stana just before the lawsuit was filed. She won the suit and he had to pay $50,000 in damages."

"She wasn't expensive for the company. She was expensive for him. Do we have a picture?"

Jo typed his name into the DMV database. "There he is."

Hanson returned to his desk. "I saw that face on the footage." He rewound the footage. "Yeah, yeah. That's him."

Jo came over. "He just walked in like he belongs. No one thought twice about him. Time stamp puts this at 9pm."

"His backpack looks lite. What's that all about?"

"Maybe so he can take all the evidence with him when he leaves?"

Hanson nodded. "I'll buy that." He fast forwarded the footage some more. "There he is leaving two hours later. The backpack doesn't look any heavier, but he sure seems to be in a hurry."

"That's because Deborah surprised him and called the cops." Jo looked at Hanson. "Let's bring him in."

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank superlc529, phnxgrl, KenH, and SSTrans for their reviews. KenH: I want to respond to your comment, but all my answers would be spoilers. Those are some great observations/questions! superlc529: I liked writing the scene for Jo. We so rarely got to see Hanson or Jo relax at home on the show, so I wanted to try and explore that. And Henry's quick save was fun to write too.**

 **This chapter starts an hour or two after the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 15

Henry finished the autopsy of Deborah Sidle and headed back to the hospital. Ms. Sidle's COD was straightforward enough, and there hadn't been an unusual smudge or bruise to investigate, so he wasn't needed at the morgue. When Henry had found out Anneliese had been attacked, he had been worried that she might die and reveal her secret. When Hanson had said she was in surgery, he had been mostly relieved.

Henry watched Anneliese sleep for a while. She was just like him. He pondered what a life with her would be like. She wouldn't age or feel the need to leave him to avoid the social gossip. They would be able to go where they wanted to whenever they needed to without worrying about what might happen. They could be happy together forever. But he didn't love her. She intrigued him and he did like her, but if he was honest, his heart was falling for Jo. Love was frustrating.

Anneliese's eyes fluttered open and Henry moved closer to her line of sight so she wouldn't have to move. Her eyes were out of focus; it looked like the pain medication was working. She closed her eyes and opened them again, trying to wake herself up. She blinked several times and then opened and closed her eyes again. Her eyes were finally focusing and then she gasped in pain. The wall of pain had hit her unprepared and now she was feeling it all at once.

She saw Henry and grimaced. "Please. Kill me now."

Henry smiled sympathetically. "I'm afraid that would be a bad idea. You will have to recover here for a time until you're well enough to go home."

"Protecting this secret is awful sometimes." Anneliese closed her eyes and sucked in a cautious breath. She gasped. "Debbie."

Henry sat down. "I'm sorry. The man who attacked you killed her."

A tear leaked from Anneliese's eyes. "She was coming over so we could plan a surprise party for one of our friends. Why would Justin do this?"

"Justin? You know the killer's identity?"

"I recognized his cologne. Justin Blakeshaw."

Henry leaned forward. "How do you know him?"

Anneliese took a breath. "When I decided it was time for 'Stana' to retire and for 'Alexis' to start working in the office, he was working for my company. I fired him a year later for sexual harassment."

"Brevity."

"What?"

"The word burned into your back. Jo looked it up. Brièfveté means brevity. His time at your company under your leadership was brief."

Anneliese looked confused. "But that was four years ago. Angela was brand new and Nikki wasn't even there yet. Why would he do this?"

Henry waved his hand. "That's for the detectives to find out. The important thing is you made an ID without prompting. I need to tell Jo." He stood and then looked down at Anneliese.

She smiled sleepily. "Go. Close the case. I can feel the meds kicking in again anyway."

"I'll come back. Don't die on me."

Her eyes closed. "I'll try not to."

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Justin Blakeshaw had been found at work where he was arrested and brought in. CSU was at his home now, tearing the place apart. They were looking for the backpack he'd had on the security footage. If it had the murder weapon in it, he was as good as cooked. Jo was watching Blakeshaw stew in the interrogation room while they waited to hear back. She wanted to have the evidence on its way to entice him to talk. _Any minute_...

Henry came into the observation room. "Anneliese knows who attacked her. Justin Blakeshaw. He..."

"Is in there." Jo gesture to Blakeshaw. "He was sued for sexual harassment by Angela Castin. That's why she was expensive. How did Anneliese know it was him?"

"She recognized his cologne. And she fired him because of sexual harassment accusations one year after she started working there as Alexis."

"Brevity."

"Exactly." Henry looked at Blakeshaw. "Why go after Nikki though? Their time never overlapped."

"I'll add that to my list of questions to ask him." Jo's phone buzzed and she answered it. "Martinez. You did? Excellent. Get it here right away."

"What was that?"

"CSU just found the backpack Blakeshaw took with him when he attacked Anneliese. They're bringing it here. When it arrives, could you process it?"

"Lucas is perfectly capable of processing it. I would like to watch the interrogation."

Jo nodded. "Fine, but you're staying in here. I don't want this case to be compromised because you're too close to Anneliese."

"Normally I might argue, but you're right. I would have a hard time staying objective."

Hanson walked in. "We ready to talk to him?"

"CSU found the bag and Henry says..." she almost said Anneliese and quickly stopped herself, using a British accent on the name to cover up her blunder as she continued, "...Ms. Deverodova recognized the cologne he was wearing. Gave him Blakeshaw's name."

"Great. Let's get him."

Jo opened the door and walked into the interrogation room. "Mr. Blakeshaw, sorry to keep you waiting. We were waiting for the search of your home to be completed."

"This charge is crap. I have an alibi for that time."

"Really?" Hanson put two pictures of Blakeshaw in the lobby security footage down on the table. "So you're saying this isn't you?"

"I can see how you might think this is me, but no, it's not. I was with a hooker. Not the best idea, sure, but Jasmine can back me up. Let me call her."

Jo sat down. "Please do. We will need to confirm that alibi." She held his phone out to him. "Make sure it's on speaker."

Blakeshaw took the phone hesitantly and dialed the number. " _Hello? Baby, is that you?_ "

"Hey, it's me. The police need you to come down to the station and confirm I was with you last night." Blakeshaw looked up at the detectives.

" _Oh, yeah, we were totally together last night. Is that all?_ "

Jo took the phone. "This is Detective Martinez. We need you to come down here. Saying you were together isn't enough. We need a signed statement." Jo gave the woman the address.

" _Well, okay, fine. I'll come._ " The woman wasn't happy. " _This doesn't fit in my day, so we'll need to get this over with quickly_."

"Thank you." Jo hung up the phone. "Now. Where were you last night?"

"I told you. With Jasmine."

Hanson was standing against the wall. "Where?"

"What do you care?"

"We will need to confirm your alibi from more than one source. Where were you?"

Blakeshaw glared at them. "St. Mark's Hotel. That's where we always go."

"What time?"

"Don't know, didn't care."

Hanson crossed his arms. "Try."

"We got together… probably about nine or so."

Jo put a picture of Nikki's burned back on the table. "So, you didn't do that?"

Blakeshaw's face lit up a little even as his expression became shocked and disgusted. "No, I would never do that. What does that word mean?"

"Safely." Jo put out the other burn pictures. "You're denying these too?"

Blake looked over Angela's back with barely-concealed glee, but his eyes came to Anneliese's picture and his face visibly fell. Nikki and Angela had had their backs photographed in their homes, but Anneliese's picture has been taken in the O.R. He was realizing for the first time that Alexis Deverodova had not died of her wounds. Jo was watching his face closely. Rage was simmering just beneath the surface because his intended target still lived.

Jo nodded. "You do know these burns."

Blakeshaw snapped out of it. "You're mistaken. I know nothing about this."

Jo slapped new photos on the table. "Nicole Day, Angela Castin, Alexis Deverodova. All three worked at Events by Stana. All three have a Middle French word burned onto their backs." She pointed to each of the words. "'Safely,' 'Expensive,' 'Brevity.' Angela was expensive for you, wasn't she?"

Blakeshaw's face darkened. "That charge is bogus. She was making it all up."

"Oh, come on." Hanson pushed off the wall. "You were fired from Events by Stana because seven women reported your behavior. Seven women."

"Fine, so I was a little forward with them. That doesn't make me a pervert."

"No, but it does give you a motive for at least two of the murders. Angela Castin helped put you in the financial situation you were in until your mother passed away four months ago and Alexis Deverodova fired you because of those accusations after coming in only a year earlier." Jo gathered up the photos. "She had only been in her position briefly before you were fired. What I don't understand is why you went after Nikki."

"I didn't go after any of them." Blakeshaw sat back in his chair and folded his arms. "I want a lawyer."

 _Damn, shut out_. Jo stood up and left the room with Hanson right behind her. "He's too smart. We need to break the hooker. Maybe she'll admit his alibi is bogus."

Henry was still looking at Blakeshaw. "Did you see how his face fell when he realized Ms. Deverodova was still alive?"

"His rage was almost tangible. He's pissed." Jo dropped the folder she held on a desk.

"Perhaps that's for the best." Henry turned to Jo.

"Go on."

"If you can't get the woman to recant, and you can't hold him any longer, perhaps his rage at failing to kill Alexis will get him to make a mistake. Maybe he'll go after her and we can catch him in the act."

"What is it with you and using something as bait?" Hanson folded his arms.

"Obviously, I would prefer not to use Alexis as bait, but if it is the only way to force a confession from him, we should be prepared for that possibility."

"I guess." Hanson looked at Blakeshaw. "He certainly is a cocky bastard. I like him for this."

"As do I." Henry turned to look back at Blakeshaw.

Lucas came in. "Hey, so the backpack just arrived. Anything specific that I'm looking for?"

Jo glanced at Blakeshaw. "Blood on the knife used to stab Alexis Deverodova, a statue or something that he might have used to knock her out, the paralytic, and a curling iron with Nikki Day or Angela Castin's DNA on it. There's also the missing pills and long-acting insulin. Basically something we can use to hold him."

"Got it. Are you coming to help, Doc?"

Henry nodded. "While we are waiting, I can help."

Jo picked up the folder. "I'll page you when the hooker/girlfriend arrives."

"Thank you." Henry and Lucas went down to the morgue. "What have you done so far?"

"Nothing." Lucas handed Henry some gloves. "It just got here."

"Then let's get started." Henry pulled on the gloves and opened the backpack.

"Here's the paralytic." Lucas took a photo and pulled a small medical kit from the backpack. "It has a prescription on it for Justin Blakeshaw."

Henry looked through the rest of the bag. "Gym clothes and a knee brace. No knives, no statues, nothing incriminating except that drug. And, because there is a prescription on it, we can't use this to hold him." Henry was stunned and disappointed.

"Can this drug be used for something else?"

"In smaller doses, it is used as a muscle relaxant. We have nothing to hold him on."

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank KenH, phnxgrl, and superlc529 for their reviews. KenH: Anneliese recognizing the cologne would be enough to bring Blakeshaw in for questioning, but it is not enough to hold/charge him. The lawyers could argue that she was smelling something that, in her agitated state, she assumed was associated with** **someone she had had a bad experience with years earlier. They could also argue that Blakeshaw wasn't the only person in the world to wear that scent. As for cameras in interrogation rooms, whenever someone is being interrogated, there is a camera that is recording for multiple reasons (protection of the cops/suspects, for use in court, for review later...) so there was a camera rolling, but the changes in his reactions is still not enough to hold him. superlc529: You're the first to catch the second Castle reference with Anneliese. And Hanson got the bait line when I realized that the first two cases I'd written for this story involved using something as bait. That won't keep happening, I promise.**

 **I'm so sorry about posting late again this past week. No, I'm not changing when I'm posting chapters. The past couple of weeks have been really busy and I wasn't able to get to my computer when I wanted to. This chapter starts not long after the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 16

"Jasmine" walked into the station with a look that said this was the last place she wanted to be. "Let's get this over with."

Jo led the way to the other interrogation room. "In here, please."

Hanson closed the door. "We just need you to write down where you were last night, who you were with, when you were with them, and what you did."

Jasmine picked up the pen. "Is this really necessary?"

Jo sat in front of her. "Yes, it is. Start writing."

Jasmine sighed and started to write. Her occupation involved her coming into contact with several men over several hours. Descriptions of the men she'd been with and where they had taken her started to fill the page. Times were not specific. Jo was reading the page upside down and noticed that 9 p.m. came and went without Justin Blakeshaw's name showing up. Finally, at 11:30 p.m. Blakeshaw's name showed up on the timeline.

Jo glanced at Hanson and nodded. "When you're done, just sign the bottom of the page."

Jasmine signed the page with a flourish. "Is that it? Can I go?"

"Not yet." Jo grab the page. "It says here that you and Mr. Blakeshaw got together around 11:30?"

"That's right. He was a bit rattled, but that's normal."

"And you went to an Alliance Parking Lot a couple blocks away from St. Marks Hotel?" This was the second bit of information that differed from Blakeshaw's telling.

"Yeah. Normally we actually go to St. Marks, but cops were there. I found out later that someone OD'd." Jasmine examined her paste-on nails.

Jo glanced at Hanson again. "Did he have anything with him?"

"A backpack. I wasn't allowed to touch it. Can I go now?"

"Not yet." Hanson leaned on the table. "Just a couple more questions. Has he ever asked you to lie for him?"

"No."

"What about send you into a nightclub to flirt with this woman?" Hanson set a picture of Nikki at the nightclub down on the table.

"I've never seen her before and I don't 'do' women." Jasmine look closer at the still. "But I've seen that tattoo before. I don't know her name. I don't know if anyone does. We just call her the snake lady. Her tattoo is a snake."

Hanson pulled out his phone. "What can you tell us about her?"

"What I've just said. That's all I know."

"You can go now." Jo stood. "Just don't leave town. We may need to talk to you again."

Jasmine stood up. "Whatever."

After Jasmine left, Jo turned to Hanson as they headed for the Observation Room. "'The snake lady.' Did you find anything?"

Hanson held up his phone. "No, our database is empty. I asked the tattoo database to run what we have of the tattoo against snake tattoos. We'll see if they find something."

"Okay." Jo looked up as the door opened. "Henry, did you find something?"

The door shut behind Henry. "I'm afraid not. We did find the paralytic, but it is in a prescription bottle for Mr. Blakeshaw. We can't hold him on that."

"No, we can't. Let's talk to Blakeshaw again."

Hanson open the door. "Mr. Blakeshaw. We've just spoken to Jasmine. There are some discrepancies in your two stories that we'd like for you to clear up. What time did you meet up with her?"

Blakeshaw looked at his lawyer, who nodded. "Sometime between nine and ten. Why?"

"She said it was around 11:30."

"That's because the bitch can't tell time." Blakeshaw was about to go on, but his lawyer held up a hand.

Jo looked at Jasmine's statement. "Where did you two go?"

"We've been over that. St. Mark's Hotel." Blakeshaw shook his head. "Why ask that again?"

"Relax, Justin." The lawyer looked at Jo. "Is it necessary to re-ask a question you already know the answer to?"

"It is, when Jasmine said you were in an Alliance Parking Lot a couple blocks away from St. Mark's Hotel because police were at your usual place." Hanson leaned against the wall. "Is she lying, or are you?"

Blakeshaw looked at his lawyer. "I must have gotten the previous night confused with that night. She was right. That night was in a parking lot."

The lawyer stood up and buttoned his $3,000 suit coat. "If you had any evidence to hold him, you would have led with that. Did you have anything else?"

"Not at this time." Jo opened the door. "But he is still a person of interest, so we ask that he doesn't leave town."

"That won't be a problem. Come on, Justin."

Henry had seen Jo open the door and he struck up a conversation with Lieutenant Reece. "Lieutenant, a moment, please?"

"Go ahead."

Henry was keeping an eye on Blakeshaw. "I just returned from visiting with Ms. Deverodova. She is getting stronger. She woke up briefly while I was there."

The lieutenant was looking at him strangely. "That's good to hear. Why is it important?"

Henry saw that Blakeshaw was now within earshot. "It is possible that she might remember her assailant."

"That would be good. She's at St. Luke's, correct?"

Blakeshaw was passing behind Henry. "Yes, in room 257."

The lieutenant watched Blakeshaw walk behind Henry and board in elevator. "I realized what you were doing. I don't like the idea of it. She's been attacked once already. We shouldn't use her as bait."

"Which is why I've asked the doctors to leave a room vacant and they have given us number 257 . Perhaps we can find an officer or detective who resembles Deverodova to play a part in this deception."

Lieutenant Reece thought about it. "I know one. I'll call and see if she can make it."

Jo came up to them. "I'm sorry we didn't ask before we cut him loose. I was sure we'd be able to get him."

"Henry said he's asked the hospital to hold an empty room for us. I'm going to call an officer and see if she can play Ms. Deverodova. You to get down there and make sure she stays safe."

"Yes, Lieutenant." Jo grabbed Henry's arm and steered him toward the door. "You already set it up?"

"Between finding nothing in his bag and the suspect being released, a lot of calls were made. And I spoke to Anneliese. If an officer can't be found, she said we could use her."

"Henry!"

Henry pulled his arm free. "That is a last resort. He'll want to wait a few hours to make sure he isn't being watched. We should have time."

"I hope you're right." Jo turned around. "Don't move. I'm grabbing my keys."

* * *

Jo and Henry were waiting in Anneliese's room until Officer Romanov arrived. The officer was quickly taken to room 257 to get set up. She changed into a hospital gown, was hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV tube, and her head was wrapped in bandages. The IV wasn't connected to the machines though because they had no idea what Blakeshaw was likely to use this time. If he was going to try injecting their decoy with anything, they didn't want her to actually die. The bandages on her head were to cover up any differences between Deverodova and the decoy.

Officer Romanov had a nasal cannula placed in front of her nose and she got into the hospital bed to wait. The other bed in the room was curtained off so the police could hide in there. Henry and Jo sat next to each other on the second bed. Lately, to pass time on stakeouts, Jo had gotten in the habit of asking Henry about his life. With the other officers in the room, asking about what he did in 1856 wasn't possible.

A couple hours later, Blakeshaw peeked into the room. Deverodova was in the first hospital bed. Bandages were wrapped around a lot of her head. That explained how it had taken her so long to wake up. He must have fractured her skull when he knocked her out. He glanced down the hall in both directions and then stepped into the room. The cops in the room all held their breath. Jo watched through a crack in the curtains.

Blakeshaw took a seat next to her bed. "You weren't supposed to survive. The shock of the burns on your back and the blood loss from seven stab wounds; that should have killed you. How did you survive that?"

Officer Romanov had fallen asleep an hour ago and didn't respond, so Blakeshaw stood. "This syringe has enough toxin in it to stop your heart. It'll be painful, but quick." He stuck the syringe into the injection port of the IV.

Jo threw the curtains open. "Justin Blakeshaw, freeze!"

He shoved the plunger down and threw up his hands. "It's too late."

"No." Henry walked forward and grabbed the IV tubing. "You only thought it was. This tube isn't connected to the one in her arm." He held up the ends of both tubes.

Jo was handcuffing Blakeshaw. "Thanks for admitting you tried to kill Ms. Deverodova."

Officer Romanov sat up. "We done here? Can I get back to my patrol?"

Blakeshaw's eye's whipped to Officer Romanov's face. "You're not Deverodova?"

The decoy pulled the bandages off her head. "Nope. Thanks for the nap, Detective."

"No problem. Go ahead and get dressed. Your shift ended twenty minutes ago." Jo turned to Blakeshaw. "Did you really think we'd put Ms. Deverodova in harm's way?" She pushed him out the door and started to read him his rights.

Henry held out his hand to Officer Romanov. "Thank you for your help. I do hope we didn't inconvenience you too much."

Officer Romanov pulled out the IV and took off the nasal cannula. "No, it was easy. All I did was sleep." She shook his hand. "Thanks for letting me help." Henry watched her walk out.

 ** _Paris 1907..._**

 _Marie brought the desert out to the table and set it in front of Henry. "Oh, this looks delicious."_

 _Marie smiled. "Merci. I felt our last night together should be special."_

 _Henry looked up in surprise. "Last night? Are you leaving?"_

 _Marie looked down. "Oui. My family... they wrote to me. Mamma is sick. They need me to come home. I'm sorry. I leave in the morning."_

" _S'il vous plaît, permettez-moi pour vous escorte à la maison (Please, allow me to escort you home). I would like to meet them."_

" _No. That is not necessary. It takes two days to get there and another two to get back to Paris. I won't take you from your practice for that long. Now, let's eat and forget our parting."_

 _They ate dessert in silence, each in their own thoughts. As much as Henry didn't want to her to leave, this was probably for the best. Now he wasn't the one who would have to break her heart. He would just have to accept the fact that he was about to lose a good friend. When dessert was done, she helped to wash his dishes and then it was time for her to go home. Henry walked her home and they talked about everything she would miss about Paris._

 _At her apartment building's door, she gave him a hug. "Merci, Henri."_

" _For what?"_

" _For not making this harder than it already is." She rang the doorbell and then kissed his cheek. "Fera un plaisir, Henri (Be happy, Henry)."_

* * *

 **Present...**

Jo came out of the interrogation room ahead of a handcuffed Blakeshaw. "He confessed to everything. Once he realized we had him on attempted murder, he just wanted to get it all over with. Said killing Nikki was an attempt to frame Deverodova for murder. When that didn't stick, he moved on to Angela and then to Deverodova." She set the file on her desk. "What was he going to use?"

"Potassium chlorate. Enough to kill a horse." Henry handed Jo the test results. "Ms. Deverodova is making a good recovery. She'll be released from the hospital at the end of the next week."

"At which point she'll kill herself to speed up the healing process." Jo had lowered her voice and was looking out at the precinct to look for eavesdroppers.

"Without a doubt. I'm going to go home and let Abe know what happened. You?"

Jo sat down. "I have paperwork. Enjoy your night."

* * *

 **A/N: A nasal cannula is the official term for the nose tube to an oxygen supply. That's the end of this case. I'll take a couple weeks off to edit the next case. Stay tuned!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Sorry about the wait. I was planning on posting this last week, but things got in the way. First off,** **I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, superlc529, and SSTrans for their reviews. KenH: The horse phrase was meant literally, yes. And thank you so much! I do what I can and I'm glad you think so highly of my writing. Here's the start of the next case for you. superlc529: Yes, Officer Romanov was an homage to Black Widow. I've also seen the IV thing in a couple different shows, but Castle was where I saw it first. Alliance on the other hand is a real parking lot company in New York City.**

 **This case starts a couple weeks after the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 17

"Stay awake. Come on, Clint. Stay awake." Clint was chanting to himself, trying to stay awake. He was driving to the 11th Precinct in Manhattan because he knew where that one was. He'd just escaped from his cell in hell and was desperate to get to safety. "Stay awake." He blinked and widen his eyes, trying to keep them open, but he was losing. The hell he'd been living for who knows how long had deprived him of sleep and his body was craving it.

He slapped himself. "Stay awake!" He hadn't known where he had been imprisoned until he saw the Brooklyn Bridge. Now he was on it and driving fast. His eyes closed, but he quickly shook himself awake. A few moments later, his eyes closed again. The car swerved to the left and he hit the center divider nearly head on. Several cars hit his and pushed it farther down the road. After several seconds of chaos, Clint's car stopped sliding down the street.

* * *

Henry opened the door. "Welcome home."

Anneliese slowly walked inside. "It's good to be home. In a little bit, I'll feel a lot better."

Henry shut the door behind them. "What do you mean?"

Anneliese turned around. "Henri, s'il vous plaît ne sois pas naïf (please don't be naïve). I'm not going to sit here and wait to heal properly. I intend to kill myself and speed up the process. I'll stay home from work for the right amount of time. But I refuse to stay injured for that long." She sat down on the couch, groaning the whole way down. "You understand that, right?"

"Of course. I… I understand." Henry sat on an armchair near Anneliese. "When were you going to do it?"

"As soon as I could."

"Even though it is broad daylight right now?"

Anneliese sighed. "You're right. That would be irresponsible of me. I guess I'll wait until tonight. Fewer observant eyes out then."

"Where do you appear?"

"That seems to depend on where I die."

"That's the way it is for me, too." Henry looked out the window. "From here, I would come back near the Manhattan Bridge."

"Me too."

"Would you like a ride back home tonight, or do you have someone you trust with your secret?"

Anneliese smirked. "Trying to see me naked, Henry?"

Henry blushed. "No, it's just… well, I have Abraham. If I can get to a phone, I can call him and have him pick me up."

"I have a clothing stash in a waterproof bag under the buoy right there." Anneliese groaned as she adjusted her position. "Plus enough cash to get me home, too. That way I don't get a public indecency charge."

"I've never thought of doing that."

"I'll get you a bag. It has to have the right markings on the sides or it might be seen as a bomb."

"What do you mean?"

"Seal teams sometimes do training missions on that river. They'll put bags in the river ahead of time to simulate a supply drop. They don't usually use the underside of buoys, but as long as the bag has the right stamps, the Police and Coast Guard leave it alone." Anneliese let her head drop back and sighed. "I should go to sleep."

Henry stood. "Do you need help getting upstairs?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm going to crash down here. I do need a blanket. They're in the upstairs hall closet."

"I'll get it."

Henry went upstairs and opened the hall closet door. Neatly folded inside were towels, blankets and sheets. He selected two blankets of different thicknesses for her to choose from. He was glad the crime scene cleanup crew had been able to clean up the aftermath of Blakeshaw's attack. The mattress had been replaced, but it was still wrapped in the plastic and unmade. _I should offer to take care of that for her_.

Henry went back downstairs. "I selected two for you to choose from." He looked at her and saw that Anneliese had fallen asleep on the couch, a pillow under her head. He set the heavier blanket on the arm of the couch so she could reach it easily and draped the lighter one over her sickly frame. Tonight she would be strong again. He frowned as he thought of this. She was willing to kill herself and the thought gave her no moment of hesitation. It troubled him that death was a casual thing to her.

He went to the phone in her office and called Lucas. "This is Henry Morgan. Has Jo called?"

" _Yeah, yeah, she just called looking for you. There was a crash on the Brooklyn Bridge. They want you there, Doc. You would know this if you had a cell phone, man_."

"I'm beginning to see your point. I'll be there soon."

* * *

Henry got out of the cab at the base of the bridge and walked through the police line toward the scene. Paramedics were caring for the injured and uniforms were conducting interviews. Henry got closer and could finally see the wreckage. Five cars had taken the brunt of it. The car with the most damage was in the front. Surrounding it where the cars with minor damage. One lane had been cleared to get all other cars off the bridge.

Hanson saw Henry first. "Hey, Doc. I think we called you for nothing."

"What makes you say that?"

"Description from the drivers who saw the deceased driving say he was acting sleepy. This is just a case of someone falling asleep at the wheel."

Henry looked toward the vehicle's interior. "Mind if I look anyway?"

Hanson gesture to the vehicle. "Be my guest."

Henry stepped up to the vehicle and began his initial assessment of the victim. He was covered in blood and it was obvious to Henry that some of his bones were broken. The airbag had deployed, so the crash had occurred above fourteen miles an hour. From the injuries the victim had sustained, Henry would guess it was above forty miles an hour. Henry put on a pair of gloves and lifted the victim's hand. These injuries had not been sustained in the crash.

 _ **London 1870…**_

 _London in the spring. It always had a way of lifting Henry spirits. He had just become a doctor at London's most prestigious hospital and he was walking to work with a spring in his step. The air was crisp and cool and the sun was peeking through the clouds. People walking by were smiling and greeting one another. Henry smiled and greeted everyone walking in the other direction. This was going to be a great day._

Maybe not. _Up ahead a horse-drawn carriage was out of control. As he watched, a woman was hit by the carriage. Henry rushed forward to help her. She was lying on the ground, dazed, but awake. "Madame, my name is Henry Morgan. I'm a doctor. Can you hear me?" She nodded. "What is your name?"_

" _Elizabeth."_

" _Alright, Elizabeth, do you remember what happened?"_

" _I was hit…"_

 _Screams made Henry look up. A horse-drawn cart overladen with crates was thundering down the street. The horses' eyes were wide with fright and their mouths were frothing. The path the cart was taking was almost identical to the one the carriage had taken. It was coming right for them. Henry noticed all of this in a split-second, adrenaline slowing his perception of time. He also noticed the cart had no driver._

 _He grabbed the woman under her arms and flagged over another man. "Help me get her out of the way!"_

 _The man grabbed Elizabeth just as the cart bumped up over the curb and onto the pavement. Henry was barely standing before the cart separated from the horses and pinned him to the wall beside the pavement. Henry felt his legs go limp before he couldn't feel them anymore. That's when the pain hit him. He pushed against the cart, but it didn't budge. He was pinned and his lower body had been badly injured. His wonderful spring day had just been ruined._

" _Come on! Get the cart off of him!"_

 _Lots of people rushed to pull the cart off of Henry. They grabbed whatever part of the cart they could reach and pushed, but the cart barely moved. Henry could feel himself getting light-headed, but there was more. He could feel it; he was dying. He began to panic. So many people were right there. So many would see his secret. But he was powerless to stop it. He began to struggle with his breath and then he exhaled for the last time._

 **Present day…**

Hanson was watching Henry. "You okay?"

"Sorry, yes. This victim is showing signs of malnutrition and exhaustion." Henry stood. "The accident may have been an accident, but this man went through something not unlike the victims of the Holocaust."

Jo walked up to them. "What about the Holocaust?"

"The driver who caused the accident. I believe he went through an ordeal like the Holocaust recently. He's slightly emaciated. Look at his arm. People who are bulimic don't get to this point without ending up in the hospital first. His exhaustion from that ordeal is what caused all this."

Jo nodded. "Well, this accident killed two people besides the victim. Do we have a name for the car's owner?"

Hanson held up his phone. "The vehicle is registered to David Phillips. He's 90 years old. He's owned this Chrysler Concorde since 1993 when it was brand new."

"We should talk to him." Jo looked over the victim. "Do we know who he is?"

Hanson shook his head. "No. Someone hasn't checked him for an ID yet."

Henry leaned over and started checking the victim's pocket. "No wallet on his person. If he was being held prisoner, that would have been the first thing his captors took from him."

"So he's a John Doe." Jo looked at the chaos this crash had caused. "And he was coming from Brooklyn. I'm assuming Mr. Phillips lives in that borough."

"He does indeed."

Henry waved over the coroners. "I'll have John Doe's body taken to the morgue and then examine him more closely. Find out just what was done to him."

"And get his name while you're at it." Hanson pocketed his phone.

"I will do my best."

Jo stood next to Henry while Hanson went to speak to the uniforms. "What happened when you looked at the victim? I know Hanson noticed. What was it?"

Henry glanced around. "I don't recognize his condition from studying the Holocaust."

"You were there."

"I was, but that's not where I recognized it from. I've been in this man's shoes. I know what he experienced because I've experienced it myself."

Jo's brow contracted in concern. "What happened?"

Henry noticed Hanson returning. "That's a horror story for another time."

"Is Anneliese settled in at home?"

Henry nodded. "She'll wait until tonight to kill herself. She'll conduct business from home for a few weeks and then she intends to return to work."

Hanson had arrived. "Who's going back to work?"

"Ms. Deverodova. She was released from the hospital and returned home this morning."

"Oh." Hanson turned to Jo. "Are we done here?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

Lucas was waiting for the van when it arrives. He took over getting the bodies inside and Henry went straight into his office. His answering machine had two messages from Jo about the crash, and one from Abe trying to figure out where he was. Henry erased the messages and called Abe, letting him know he'd heard about the crime scene. With that done, he called the hospital to check on the victims who had been taken there. So far, everyone was stable, but they were anticipating that a few of them may not remain so.

Lucas poked his head in the door. "John Doe with the messed-up hands is ready for prep. Do you want me to take care of it?"

"No, I'll be out in a minute. More of the crash victims may not make it. I'll need you to retrieve their bodies if the hospital calls."

"You got it." Lucas closed the door behind him as he left.

Henry took a moment to center himself. He had been rattled by what he'd seen earlier and Hanson had noticed. He would have to be more careful with his emotions during the course of this case. He had told Hanson he recognized this torture from studying the Holocaust in medical school. To maintain face, he would have to pretend that was exactly what he was seeing. He pulled on his lab coat and walked out to the morgue. It was time to find out if he could figure out what this man had endured.

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank KenH, phnxgrl, SSTrans, superlc529, and parkin24 for their reviews. parkin24: Welcome to the story! I hope you continue to enjoy it. superlc529: No, Clint was not in reference to Hawkeye of the Avengers. It just happened to be the first name I thought of for the character. And I didn't even realize the flashback involved a crash to go with the car crash. Must have been a subconscious thing. SSTrans: This case has a very personal connection to Henry's life and is probably one of the darkest series of flashbacks I've written for him to this point. You'll see what I mean soon enough. KenH: Anneliese has an interesting connection to this case as well. We'll explore that connection in a later chapter.**

 **This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 18

Jo knocked on Mr. Phillips' door and they waited a minute for him to answer it. "Yeah? Who are you?"

Jo held up her badge. "Detective Jo Martinez and my partner, Detective Hanson. We're here to speak to you about your car."

"It's parked just over there." He pointed and then pulled his hand back. "Where'd it go?"

"It was stolen, Mr. Phillips." Hanson stepped forward. "Any chance we could come in and discuss this?"

"Yeah, yeah. Come on in." Phillips waved them inside and shut the door behind them. "I used it yesterday. Got lucky to find a spot so close to my door. You found it?"

"Mr. Phillips, I'm afraid it was involved in a multi-car pile-up on the Brooklyn Bridge. We believe the thief was killed on impact."

"Oh, that's horrible. Do you know who it was?"

"Not yet. He didn't have an ID on him. Did you see anyone suspicious earlier today?"

"No, no, I don't do that. I got better things to do than watch the front walk." Phillips went to his kitchen. "You guys want something to drink?"

Both detectives declined. "Mr. Phillips, when was the last time you remember seeing your car?"

"When I parked it there last night. I didn't need it yet today, so I didn't check on it."

Jo's phone buzzed. "Excuse me." She opened the message and a picture of the victim's face, no longer covered in blood, came up. "Mr. Phillips, does this man look familiar to you?"

Philips switch the glasses he was wearing and took a look. "No. Is he the one who took my car?"

"We believe so." Jo put her phone away.

"He's just a kid." Phillips switched back to his normal glasses. "Do you have any more questions?"

Hanson nodded. "Where do you keep the keys to the car?"

"There's a plate in my bedroom. There's a spare in the glove box." He stopped. "I can't remember if I locked the car last night."

Jo held out her hand. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Phillips."

Phillips shook her hand, disappointed. "Sure. I'm sorry I wasn't much help."

Hanson held out his hand. "You did fine." The detectives walked outside. "I thought I'd seen a key in the ignition earlier. Our victim lucked out finding that key in the glove box."

Jo stopped by their car. "Our victim was running from somewhere around here into Manhattan and the car got as far as the Brooklyn Bridge. Where did he come from?"

Hanson looked around. "Doc said that the victim was mistreated, starved. He might have been held near here."

"Right."

Hanson pulled out his phone. "I want some uniforms to go door-to-door around here. I'll have them show the victim's picture around and see what shakes out."

Jo's phone buzzed with another text from Lucas. "Henry's ready for us."

* * *

 _ **London 1870…**_

 _Henry was hastily packing everything he could take with him into his trunks. People had seen. Not one, not two or three; an entire crowd had seen him die and vanish. The papers were circulating both logical explanations and wild jumps in imagination, but they were all telling the story of The Disappearing Man. His only solace was that they hadn't put his name and image in with the story yet. It was only a matter of time though._

 _He latched the last trunk and looked around his flat. He'd written a letter of resignation to the hospital and sent it with the postman, so that bit was sorted. It also appeared that everything of importance had been packed up. He just needed to go hire a coachman to take him and his belongings to the train station, though leaving England for a time might be better. He'd make his choice by the time he reached the coach depot._

 _Henry walked down the street toward the depot. He was nervous being in public just a few streets from where he had died, so he kept his head down. To his right, a carriage stopped and a couple men stepped out. Henry kept his head down and nervously touched his hat to make sure it was concealing his face. The men stepped onto the sidewalk behind him and then suddenly there was a gun against the small of his back and a voice in his ear._

" _You're comin' wif us unless you want t'die here in front of everyone. Again."_

 _Henry nodded and he was guided to the waiting carriage and pushed inside. The men climbed up behind him, and the driver got moving again. Henry was handed a blindfold, which he put on, and then his hands were bound with a rope. The driver made several turns and Henry lost track of where they were. After a while, the carriage stopped making turns and the roadway became unpaved. They had left London._

 _It took almost three days to travel to their destination, at which point Henry was pushed out of the carriage. "Where are we?"_

" _Abergwesyn, Dr. Morgan." An unfamiliar voice was coming from some distance away. "I'm sorry we had to take you from London that way, but time was of the essence. I couldn't risk the papers identifying you as The Disappearing Man."_

 _Henry was roughly shoved from behind into the arms of a large man; that man grabbed Henry by his arm and pulled him into what felt like a building. Henry was taken down what sounded like a long corridor and then into a room. The cobblestone floor tripped him and he stumbled forward until he was caught by his tour guide. As though he had annoyed someone by blindly tripping on the uneven floor, Henry was pulled upright and then turned around and walked backward a couple more steps. His hands were untied and he was quickly strapped to an upright table._

 _The blindfold was finally removed and Henry was blinking in the sudden brightness. "Who are you?"_

" _My name is Dr. William Gower. I am working on discovering the Fountain of Youth. You are proof that something like that is possible. Tell me, how is it that you are like this?"_

" _I don't know what you're talking about."_

" _I think you do, Dr. Morgan. I was there when the cart crashed into the wall. For a moment, you were stuck between the cart and the wall; the next, you had vanished."_

" _What do you want?"_

 _Dr. Gower smiled. "I want to study you. Let's see what happens when I use this on you." He held up an aspirator pump._

 _Henry struggled against his restraints. "What are you doing?"_

" _Experimenting, Dr. Morgan." Dr. Gower started by inserting the needle into Henry's arm. "One of my men was at the docks receiving a shipment when he saw a man come out of the water, naked. When he described the man, I realized it was the same man who had died and vanished in front of me. That's why this lab was the perfect place. There's a lake nearby and it is the only one for many kilometers. I have a man waiting there, should you not survive this experience."_

 _Henry was in excruciating pain and he began convulsing because of it. His body was being drained of all his blood. Dr. Gower was using the aspirator pump to collect his blood in a massive glass jar. Henry didn't want to know what for. Breathing was getting more difficult as his body was starved for oxygen. He was losing focus_. Why was he here? _He couldn't remember. His vision blacked out. Unnecessary body processes were shutting down and then he passed out._

 _Henry must have died because his head was breaking the surface of the water to take a massive breath. He was alive again. He swam to the shore and stood up. One of the men who had exited the carriage in London was sitting on a large rock with a pistol in his hands. Henry looked around. There were woods to his right not far from this man. Maybe he could run for the cover of the trees._

" _I wou'n't do dat if I was you." The man looked up. "See, you run, I get ta kill ya, and we start this dance all ofer again."_

 _Henry let his shoulders drop and hung his head in defeat. He walked forward slowly. When he was next to the man with the gun, he punched the man in the face and ran for the woods. Five steps from entering the woods, he was shot in the back. Henry stumbled and fell, collapsing in the dirt. The man walked up to him and fired the gun again. Henry's head broke the surface of the water again._

 _The man walked over to the shore. "Ya wan'ta try dat again?"_

 **Present day…**

Henry looked up as the detectives arrived. "Right on time. As I suspected, our victim was malnourished and dehydrated, which is why he fell asleep at the wheel. His body was exhausted."

"Is it possible to get that way on your own?"

"Not likely. It would take an extraordinary amount of discipline. Especially when you factor in that he showed signs of being sleep deprived as well. I don't believe this man did this to himself and some of my other findings should illustrate why."

Hanson smirked. "Well, Doc. Dazzle us."

Henry smiled. "I shall attempt. The victim has bruises covering his torso," Henry pulled back the sheet, "which suggests he was beaten repeatedly over the course of at least a week. Different sizes and colors of the bruises suggest he had multiple attackers, one of whom might be a woman. X-rays show broken bones in various stages of healing. Some of them correspond to the bruising patterns. Combine that with his malnutrition and I would guess he's been held captive for two or three months."

Jo leaned closer. "Are those... stab wounds?"

"Yes. I counted seven in various stages of healing. All are within the time frame of the broken bones."

"What happened to his hands?" Hanson was eyeing the victim's hands with disgust.

"It appears they were burned with acid. His fingerprints are melted. I will be unable to run them, I'm afraid." Henry gestured toward Dr. Wahl. "I'm having Lucas run the DNA."

Jo turned to Hanson. "He was starved and tortured. His captors would need somewhere isolated for that."

"There's not a whole lot of places for that in Brooklyn. I'll start putting together a list of abandoned buildings in that area." Hanson turned and left the morgue.

Jo came around the table and stood next to the M.E. "Anything else you can tell me, Henry?"

"Not at the moment."

She lowered her voice. "I wasn't talking about the victim."

Henry looked around and gestured to his office. "After you."

Jo waited until the door closed behind them. "You once told me that you'd been drained of all your blood. This case is reminding you of that time, isn't it?"

"Yes." Henry sat down in his chair. "His... name was Dr. William Gower. He was obsessed with discovering the Fountain of Youth or some other form of immortality. He's the one who did so many ungodly things to me."

"Are you able to tell me about it?"

"I wouldn't want to subject you to that."

Jo sighed. "Henry, I'm a big girl. A homicide detective. I think I can handle hearing your horror stories."

"Very well. The start of this tale is back in 1870," Henry leaned back in his chair, "in London. A carriage was out of control and it hit a woman. I helped her up as a cart with no driver came racing down the same road. I got her out of the way, but the cart pinned me to the wall behind me."

"You died publicly."

"Yes. Dr. Gower was there, apparently. He figured out my identity and kidnapped me so he could conduct experiments. The first one he did, he drained my blood into a massive jar. I don't know what he intended to do with it. When I died, it vanished."

Jo was quiet for a moment. "Do you think he thought your blood was the Fountain of Youth?"

"Perhaps. To be honest, I've tried not to dwell on that part of my life. It was unpleasant then. I doubt thinking about it will make it any more enjoyable now."

Jo stood. "I'll stop asking about it, then."

"Thank you. If you want to know more, I'm willing to share, but can it wait until after this case has been solved?"

Jo nodded. "Of course."

Lucas knocked on the door as he opened it. "Am I interrupting?"

"Not at all. What is it, Lucas?"

"The DNA test for the victim didn't get us an ID."

"Thank you, Lucas."

"Yeah." He left Henry's office.

Jo stood. "We need an ID."

"I have sent out his dental X-rays. We might get his name that way."

"Good. Let me know if something pops."

Henry stood to go to the door. "Of course."

"I'm sorry about what happened to you, Henry."

"Thank you." Henry held open his office door. "I'll get you an ID as soon as I have it."

* * *

 **A/N: The flashback scenes in this case will be longer due to how much information I'm trying to cram into them. Sorry about that. Stay tuned for more!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, parkin24, SSTrans and superlc529 for their reviews. superlc529: The old man isn't involved, he's just older. The pump would be an earlier version, but yes, that visual would definitely get the point across. SSTrans: Henry's very glad he no longer has to hide his condition from Jo anymore. And she's known about it for several months at this point, so it doesn't surprise her anymore (mostly). parkin24: It is freeing for them to be able to talk openly about Henry's life. And thanks so much! I'm glad you're enjoying this story. KenH: That line had me trying to figure out how that could have been possible and why someone would do it. It is also a line that implies the most horrible things that could be done to a man. And don't worry, Anneliese will not be fading into oblivion; I plan to keep her in the story for a while.**

 **This chapter starts where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 19

Henry left for home a few minutes after his conversation with Jo ended. Dental records could take days to receive a positive match, so there was no point in waiting. He decided to visit Anneliese and see if she had killed herself yet or not. He wasn't sure what he expected to find and her comfort with doing this still troubled him. Then again, he was fine with having Abe help him "conduct research." His research was into causes of death he was unfamiliar with, and that wasn't much different than this. He arrived at her door and knocked.

From behind him came a voice. "She hasn't gotten home quite yet."

Henry turned around. "Anneliese."

She smiled. "Checking up on me?" She stepped forward and unlock the door. "Come on in."

"You did wait for dark." Henry looked at the bag hanging from her shoulder. This must be what the bag she'd spoken up earlier looked like. "What did you do until then?"

"I took a nap. Maybe two." She set the bag down and locked the door behind them. "I'll need to refill the bag and get it back soon."

"That's the downside of this arrangement, isn't it?"

"Yes. Better than the alternative, though."

"True." Henry noticed a push dagger by the sink. "Is that what you use?"

Anneliese picked it up and started to wash it. "Yes. I always have it with me too. "

"How?"

She turned off the water and dried it off. "Its concealed in my belt buckle." She grabbed the belt off the kitchen island. "See?" She slid the dagger into the belt's decorative buckle.

"Clever." Henry liked how the intricate detail of the belt buckle hid the dangerous weapon inside.

"I can put you in contact with the man who made this for me. He's good. Whatever pattern you like, he can make it, and he doesn't ask too many questions." She looked at him for a long moment. "Something is bothering you."

"Yes. The case I'm working on at the moment." Henry sat on a bar stool. "It reminds me of a terrible time in my life."

"How so?"

"The victim was held for an extended amount of time and tortured. I went through a similar experience in 1870 at the hands of Dr. William Gower. He was trying to…"

"…discover the secret of immortality."

Henry was surprised. "Yes. How did you know?"

"I was captured and tortured by him in 1875. He kept talking about the one like me he'd had a few years earlier. I always assumed he was talking about Pierre..."

Henry's brow furrowed. "Pierre?"

Anneliese sat on a stool next to Henry. "A man I knew in 1715. This was in Brioude, France. He was courting me. One day, we were at the market and he told me he had to talk to some men. I don't think he knew I could see him. One of the men he was talking to stabbed him. I rushed toward Pierre, but his body vanished before I got to him."

"So there's another immortal?"

"I'm not sure. Describe Adam."

Henry quickly describe the man. "Does that seem like Pierre?"

Anneliese nodded. "Yes, that's Pierre. He came home late that night. Said he helped a little girl get home and gotten lost himself. I never did tell him I'd seen what happened, or that I was like him. He left a month later."

"There are a lot of reasons why I hate that man. I'm having a hard time understanding how you could court him."

Anneliese laughed. "I take it your interactions with him we're not good. He was so sweet when I knew him. He wasn't a saint, don't get me wrong, but he was still a good man. Time must have changed him."

"Perhaps. World War II for him was like Dr. Gower was for us."

"Dr. Gower, yes." She looked at Henry. "I'm sorry it was you."

"Thank you. How did you escape?"

"I got very lucky."

Henry's brow furrowed. "How?"

"There are underwater caves with air pockets in that area. After I was killed one day, I found myself reborn in one. I drowned a few times trying to swim through it to get out, but after that I returned to the cave every time. Eventually I found an opening to the sky that was several meters from the lake. I stayed there for a couple hours before trying to climb out. I guess Dr. Gower didn't realize there were caves like that, or maybe he didn't know this hole existed."

"I never even thought that was possible."

"I had lived in that area for a while and heard the stories of underwater caves where there was air and hidden treasure." Anneliese smiled. "I guess God heard my prayers for mercy. When I reached that escape, I stayed there, hoping it was long enough that the pervert waiting for me to surface would have gone back to his master."

"Was it?"

Anneliese nodded. "Yes. I came out in the woods. I found a woman who lived out there and told her some horror story to explain my lack of clothes. How did you get out?"

 _ **Abergwesyn, Wales 1870…**_

 _Henry sat in his cell, staring at his hands. He'd been in this position before. Last time had been because of Nora. He took a moment to think of his late wife. He had loved her deeply. Even after her betrayal he had loved her for a time. Part of him always would. But he had been unable to trust her when he began to be tortured. Fifty years later, she had begged him to forgive her and take her back, but he couldn't._

 _A week later, she returned to the hospital, determined this time to prove he was immortal. She had killed a nurse he loved by accident and ended up in an asylum herself. He visited her there and said the same things she had told him before she stopped coming to see him. Nora had understood then why he could no longer be her husband and had accepted her fate with no complaints. She died in the hospital five years later._

 _Henry would give anything to be back in that prison undergoing another "hydrotherapy" session. He had thought that was hell before he'd come here. Dr. Gower was determined to find out what made him immortal and had done just about anything. Henry had been here for three months and died at least twenty times by now. Drained of his blood, dissected while awake and asleep, starved; even his brain had been removed from his skull. If the "good doctor" wanted to experiment on him, he did._

 _Henry was tired of it. He had to get out of here, but he couldn't outrun his hound dog. That man was able to hit a moving target no matter how erratically it moved. Henry was going to have to think of something else. His mind drifted back to prison. His cellmate had been a priest, but that man had helped him escape with a noose of bed sheets and enough weight to snap his neck._

 _Henry looked around his cell. Here his bed was a pile of straw. There was nothing in the cell to kill himself with, which was probably intentional. Dr. Gower didn't want his lab rat disappearing on him without his permission. Henry was starting to plan on stealing something the next time he was out of his cell, but then he stopped. The only time he was let out of his cell was to die in whatever creative way the doctor could think of next._

 _A young man Henry hadn't seen before shoved a plate under the bars of his cell. "Your lunch."_

 _Henry took the plate and saw the knife. "Thank you." He quickly hid the knife in his straw bed while the young man wasn't looking. "Excuse me. How am I to eat this? I've nothing to cut it with."_

 _The young man looked around the cell. "Where did it go?"_

" _What?"_

" _The knife!"_

 _Henry swept his arms wide. "I assure you, I have no knife. If you would like to search the cell…"_

" _No, I'll go get one. I must have dropped it." He returned a minute later. "Here."_

" _Thank you." Henry ate quickly in silence and then handed the plate and utensils back to the young man, who had watched him closely. "Thank you."_

" _Sure." The man snatched back the items and left quickly._

 _Henry waited until it was quiet to retrieve the knife from the straw. He rolled up his sleeves and held the knife over one of his wrists. That's when he froze. He couldn't do this. He was a doctor. Killing was against his whole being. But was he really killing himself? It wasn't like he could actually die. He lowered the knife anyway. The lake wasn't far from the lab. If he was found before he died, they might be able to get there before he could escape._

 _Henry turned the knife in his hands. The heart was an organ that couldn't handle too much trauma before it gave out. A knife between the correct ribs would do the job. He ran a hand over his rib cage and found the spot. He positioned the knife in the right spot and took a few deep breaths. With a quick thrust, he buried the knife in his chest, gasping at the sudden pain._

 _He could feel his heart struggling to do its job almost instantly. He lay back as his breathing became ragged. This was taking too long. Voices became audible as a door opened. Someone was coming. Henry struggled to pull the knife from his chest. He was going to stab himself twice more, but removing the knife had unplugged his wound and blood gushed out. With what little energy he had left, and he stabbed himself on the right side to collapse his right lung and speed things up._

 _His head broke the surface of the water and he sucked in a deep breath. Never before had the damp air seemed so pleasant. He swam for the lake shore and raced for the woods. The trees and brush would hide him from searching eyes so he could escape. He could hear the men getting close to the lake, so Henry sped up, searching for somewhere to hide if they got too close. The hollow of a tree provided a good amount of cover, so he dove in to wait for nightfall._

 **Present day…**

Anneliese smiled. "That's was a much simpler solution. I didn't get that option though. I was never given a knife for my food."

"They must have learned from me."

"They must have. Oh, it's getting late." Anneliese stood and grabbed the bag. "I should restock this so I can put it back before the nightlife is in full swing."

"Of course." Henry stood. "I'm glad you're feeling better now."

"I usually do when I've been reborn." Anneliese kissed Henry on the cheek. "Bonsoir, Henri (Goodnight, Henry). Good luck with your case."

"Bonsoir, Anneliese." (Goodnight, Anneliese)

* * *

Jo was packing up to go home when Hanson hurried over to her desk. "I've got a possible location. This warehouse was converted into a recording studio twenty years ago. Completely soundproofed. It was abandoned five years ago. It would be a perfect place to hold someone."

"Yeah, it would be." Jo put the victim's picture up on the board. "Do we have a warrant?"

"There's a judge waiting to sign it as soon as we get there."

Lieutenant Reece came out of her office and stopped when she saw the face on the board. "What is Clint Burke's connection to the case?"

"He's the victim." Hanson turned to look at the lieutenant. "You know him?"

"Sure, I know him. I arrested him a few years ago. Car theft. He's the one who was being tortured?"

"Yes, sir." Jo handed Reece the autopsy report. "Dr. Morgan said this level of physical suffering is similar to what Holocaust victims went through. We have a location where the torture may have been conducted."

"Yeah, and a judge is standing by to sign a search warrant." Hanson put on his coat.

"Go. I'll send backup to meet you nearby."

Jo pulled out her phone. "If there are more victims, we should have Henry on site." She headed for the door on Hanson's heels.

He held the door open for them. "Paramedics too. I'll drive."

* * *

 **A/N: Nice long scene with Anneliese followed by some progression in the case. Stay tuned for what happens next!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, parkin24, a Guest and SSTrans for their reviews. SSTrans:** Henry does like having someone who understands his struggle with immortality. Jo is a wonderful person to tell his memories to, but Anneliese understands what he's talking about a bit better. But who am I torturing now? I don't quite understand what you're talking about there. **Guest:** Yes, a survival instinct will override a lot of learned behaviors. I want to say that Adam and Anneliese knew each other for maybe a year before he left to protect his secret. I've mentioned that she's been married six times; she would have only told the men she was about to marry that she was immortal. Adam wasn't close to asking for her hand when he left. **parkin24:** I think it will be interesting to explore Adam's history through a different lens (Anneliese's interaction with him). So far we've only seen him through Henry's eyes. That being said, I'm not saying that he was still the good man who died trying to save Julius Caesar when Anneliese knew him. But yes, Henry definitely has a problem picturing the two of them as a couple. **KenH:** I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Many of your questions will be answered in this chapter, so enjoy. **phnxgrl:** Their shared history with that Doctor made that moment possible. **This chapter starts not long after the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 20

Abraham was on the phone when Henry got home. "Okay, I'll... Oh, he just walked in. Henry, phone's for you. It's Jo."

Henry took the receiver. "Detective?"

" _We've got an address to check out. Might be useful to have a doctor on site._ "

"Where is it?"

Jo rattled off the address. " _Get there ASAP. We're already on our way._ "

"I'll leave right away."

" _See you in a bit_."

Henry hung up and turned to his son. "I'm heading out again it would seem."

Abraham walked with him to the door. "How's your new lady friend?"

"Healed. And apparently she was tortured by Dr. Gower as well."

"No kidding. He gets around."

"So it would seem." Henry shook himself out of his revere and looked up at Abraham. "Well, I'll be home late tonight. Don't wait up."

"Be careful."

* * *

Jo and Hanson were looking over the building's floor plan as uniforms were arriving. "We should have team two covering this exit."

Hanson nodded. "Got it. I'll join that team. We'll split up here; meet you in the middle. Henry is on his way, right?"

"He said was. I'll have him with my team."

"Good." Hanson looked up. "There he is."

Jo turned around. "Good evening, Henry. You're with my team."

"Alright. What am I here for, exactly?"

Hanson rolled up the floor plans. "You're here to take care of any captives we find. Or examine any deceased victims we come across."

"Makes sense." Henry tighten his coat around him. "I'll stay out of your way."

"That's a good idea." Hanson waved to a few uniforms. "Let's go."

Jo moved to Henry's side. "Lieutenant Reece ID the car crash victim. His name was Clint Burke. She'd arrested him for stealing cars years ago."

Henry nodded. "I'll make sure to add his name to the death certificate when I return to the morgue."

"Good. When we go in there, I want you to stay in the back of the group."

"And duck if there's trouble."

Jo glanced at the uniforms waiting for her go ahead. "And don't die. I don't want to explain that to Hanson. Or anyone else."

"Understood." Henry smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be careful."

"Good." She checked her gun. "Okay, let's go."

The door was unlocked, so Jo led the way inside. Their goal was to find any captives there might be without alerting the captors and giving them a chance to kill the victims. The group moved down the hallway, checking every room they passed. Jo had looked at the blueprints, so she led the way toward the center of the converted warehouse where they would meet up with Detective Hanson.

In the fifth room they checked, a young woman lay huddled in the far corner. "Henry, in here." Jo moved out of the way as she whispered, "She's in the corner."

Henry entered the room. The woman's clothes were worn and torn. From the pallor of her skin and the color of the scars that were visible, she appeared to have been held here for a couple of months. Her breathing was ragged, telling Henry that she was ill besides what she'd been through here. He approached her cautiously. The woman woke up as Henry got near. She looked up at him for a moment and then panicked.

Henry held up his hands. "It's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. We're here to help. What is your name?"

The woman was staring at him, breathing heavily. "Elizabeth."

Henry nodded. "Hello, Elizabeth. My name is Dr. Henry Morgan. My friend is Detective Jo Martinez."

Jo had closed the door behind them and she waved at Elizabeth. "Hello."

Elizabeth relax a little. "You're a cop?"

Jo nodded. "I am."

Henry held out a hand. "May I make sure you're well enough to be moved?"

Elizabeth nodded and Henry knelt at her side to give her a quick exam. She winced when he touched her leg; it was broken. Henry also noticed that her ragged breathing may not be from an illness. He gently touched her left side and Elizabeth winced again. She couldn't breathe properly because ribs were broken. Henry looked at Jo and shook his head. Moving Elizabeth without a stretcher would be a bad idea.

Jo nodded. "Elizabeth, how many people are hurting you?"

She sucked in a breath. "Two. I think they're married. Her name is Karen and his is Joseph."

"Do you know the last name?"

"No. They never use it." Elizabeth gasped as Henry gently touched a spot on her back. "Karen likes to use knives and Joseph likes to break bones."

Henry backed up. "When was the last time you'd eaten something?"

"I don't know. A couple days, maybe. It was just bread and water."

Henry turned to Jo. "The bread absorbs the water and takes up more space in your stomach. It makes you feel full without actually filling you up or providing any nutrition. Are the paramedics here?"

"Yes, but they won't come in until the suspects are in custody." Jo turned back to their victim. "Do you know how many people they have here?"

"No, but I know there's more. One managed to escape the other day. They were so mad. That's when they broke my leg."

Jo open the door and let one of the uniforms in. "Dr. Morgan and I will keep looking for more people. Officer Quick will stay to protect you."

Elisabeth nodded hesitantly. "Thank you."

Henry stood. "We'll send help as soon as we can. Hang in there."

Jo closed the door as they left Elizabeth and Officer Quick inside. "We'll split up here. Jones, Jamison, O'Ryan, you are Team JJR. You will take that hall. Text me if you find someone and where. Henry and I will then come to you. Finlay, Gordon, Hodges, you are Team FGH. You will take this hall, same drill. Brennan, Danville, Reynolds, you're Team BDR, and you're with me. If Henry and I have to examine a victim, you'll hold position. Clear?"

The officers nodded and moved out. Within a minute, Jo's phone buzzed with a text and Henry was following her to where Team JJR had found someone. Henry's exam revealed that Jordan was hurt and malnourished, but he could still walk. Henry supported him back to Elizabeth's room and they left him there. Henry was following Jo back to her group when another victim was found, this time by Team FGH.

Jo returned to her team first. "Change of plans. You'll search this hallway and text me just like the other teams. Good?"

Brennan nodded his head. "Yes, ma'am."

Jo nodded and retreated down the hallway. "I didn't think this many people would be kidnapped."

"If they came from other cities or states, I can see how this went unnoticed." Henry opened the door the officers were guarding.

The man inside was very still. Henry walked up to him, expecting him to wake up the entire way. He knelt by the man's side and noticed he wasn't breathing. He quickly turned the man onto his back and checked for a pulse. What he felt was very weak. Henry was about to start CPR, but as soon as his hands touched the man's chest, Henry stopped. The man's chest was crushed. He didn't have much time left.

Henry looked up at Jo. "This man needs medical attention right now."

"They won't come in."

"His chest has been crushed. I can't help him, but they might be able to. Jo, we've cleared the halls to this point. He is dying. He needs them."

Jo looked at Henry for a moment and then lifted her walkie. "Paramedics needed inside. Victim is a white male, 35–40. M.E. says his chest has been crushed. He's not breathing and has a weak pulse. Police escort will meet you at the front door." She stood up and grabbed one of the uniforms. "You're with me."

Henry kept his fingers on the man's pulse. It was weak, but it was still there. He put his ear next to the man's mouth, listening for his breathing. There was nothing. Henry started to gently feel the man's chest. Four ribs were broken, another four were fractured, and two felt like they were missing. If Henry was going to diagnose his condition, Henry would guess that both lungs were probably partially or fully collapsed.

The door opened again and the paramedics rushed in. "How is he?"

"I just lost his pulse."

"We'll take it from here."

Henry followed Jo out of the room. "Thank you."

Jo nodded and held up her phone. "We've got two more."

"Lead on."

Team JJR had found another victim a few doors down from the last one. She had only been there for a few hours, but she'd already been stabbed twice. Henry and Jo escorted her back to Elizabeth's room and then headed to where Team BDR had found someone. He was in bad shape with a broken leg and two infected stab wounds. Henry wasn't comfortable moving him, but felt his injuries were not immediately life-threatening. Brennan was left in his room to protect him and the rest moved on to search the rest of the hallway.

Hanson's team came around the corner. "Have you found anyone?"

Henry nodded. "Five. We had to evacuate one in critical condition. Two were moved into a room with one victim who was immovable and another victim stayed in his room for the same reason. You?"

"Three. All in the same room now. There's a security office in the middle. Door's locked, so I left half my team to cover it. Jones, Jamison, and O'Ryan are already there."

"We should evacuate all the victims if that's the only place not checked." Jo lifted her walkie. "Any objections?"

Hanson shook his head. "I'll go back and get mine out the back door. Meet you at the security office?"

"Sounds good." Jo turned to Finlay, Gordon, and Hodges. "Head up to the office and assist the team there."

"Copy that."

Jo had Danville and Reynolds meet them at the front door to bring paramedics to the two rooms with immovable victims. The officers stopped at Elizabeth's room to assist the victims who could walk while Jo and Henry led the second stretcher to the other room. The paramedics performed a quick exam and then loaded the victim, whose name was Marcus, onto the stretcher and wheeled him out.

Jo held the door open. "You should wait by the car."

Henry looked at her. "Jo, I may be needed in there."

"Why's that?"

"In case the couple are in that office with a hostage. If there is a hostage, they may need medical attention. I'll stay out of the way. I promise."

Jo mulled it over for a moment. "Okay. But, you're staying around a corner from the office and an officer stays with you."

"Done." Henry followed Jo back inside.

Hanson was waiting for them at the office. "We can hear movement inside. Someone's home."

Jo turned to Henry. "You know where you're supposed to be."

Henry nodded and headed for the nearest corner. Jo signaled to Danville and she followed him to the corner, placing herself between the office and Henry. The rest of the officers stacked up against the wall outside the door to the office. One officer held the battering ram and waited for the signal. Hanson and Jo lined up with the officers and Hanson nodded to the officer with the ram. He swung it back and then hard into the door, popping the locks and opening the door.

"NYPD!"

* * *

 **A/N: The logistics of where everyone was at any given time was a nightmare on this case. I hope I managed to avoid putting anyone in two places at once. Let me know if I made a mistake so I can fix it. And yes, most of the officers have surnames from other shows I've watched (one is from a book). Stay tuned!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, a Guest, parkin24, SSTrans, and superlc529 for their reviews. superlc529:** I had a suspicion that it was you, but I would hate to give credit to someone when it wasn't them. So I'll thank you for your review here. And we'll find what happened that patient/victim in this chapter. Jo's known about Henry's immortality for a while now and feels comfortable talking with him about it, but at the same time she's a bit afraid about revealing Henry's secret to others, so you'll notice that when she says something about it in public, she's looking around to make sure no one else is in earshot. Glad it made you laugh. **parkin24:** I enjoy writing chapters that end on a cliffhanger; they are so much fun. I'm not sure I understand what "class clown monsters" means but I'm glad you're excited for more. **Guest:** While I won't say which way I'm leaning, I will tell you that I'm simply extending another candidate for Henry's affection. He may pick Anneliese, he may pick Jo, or maybe I'll have him reconnecting with Professor Dawes. Anything is possible at this point. **KenH:** The correction helps make sense out of that line of your comment, so thank you. Also, Joseph is not related to Mengele, he's just a sick person. And I'm glad you were able to follow the confusing part of the chapter (I had to draw it out to keep track of everything).

 **This chapter starts right where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 21

From his position around the corner, Henry couldn't see what was happening in the office, but he could hear it. The police were shouting and then people were screaming or groaning in pain. Inside was organized chaos. The suspects had taken a position in a corner facing the door. Joseph had a gun and opened fire as soon as the uniforms crossed the threshold. Karen was hiding behind him. The first two officers were hit, one in the shoulder and one in the arm, before they could get a shot off. Both went down and their shots went wide. The next two officers managed to shoot Joseph in the torso as they entered the room.

Jo entered the office as he was going down. Joseph got off another shot, hitting Jo in her vest. Two more bullets struck Joseph and he stopped shooting. Jo hit the floor in pain; she felt like she'd been hit by a sledgehammer. Karen wailed in grief as the rest of the uniforms came in the room. Hanson went straight toward her to secure the gun. Karen lunged for it, but Hanson managed to kick it away before she reached it. A moment later, he collapsed with a knife sticking out of his thigh. Karen pulled it from his leg and was about to stab him again when the uniforms opened fire and killed her. She collapsed onto her back and the knife clattered to the ground.

"Clear!"

"Henry! Get in here!" Jo's voice was strained, which worried Henry.

"Jo?! Are you alright?" Henry ran into the room.

Jo nodded her head, pain on her face. "Hanson was stabbed. Help him."

Henry turned to the detective. He was leaning against a cabinet, his hands were applying pressure to his thigh, and panic was clearly written on his face. His black slacks were wet with blood, but a pool hadn't formed beneath his leg. Henry quickly checked on the two injured officers on his way to Hanson. The arm wound was mostly superficial, and the shoulder wound was a clean through-and-through. Both men would recover quickly.

Hanson looked up at Henry, fear in his eyes. "It's bad, isn't it? I think it hit the femoral artery."

Henry requested the detective move his hands. "No, detective. The knife didn't sever the femoral. The femoral artery is on the inside of your thigh. This wound is on the outside. It is a painful injury. You'll be off your feet for a few weeks. But you will recover. That I can promise you."

"You're sure, Doc?"

Henry smiled. "I am." He turned to the doorway and saw paramedic standing there. "I'll let them get to work."

"Thanks, Doc."

Henry knelt at Jo's side. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Her smile was strained as she looked up at him. "Yeah, I'm good. I'll just stay down here for a while."

Henry reached for the Velcro holding her vest together. "You might feel better if the bullet wasn't pressing into your ribs." He pulled the Velcro apart and the vest fell open.

Jo sucked in a deep breath. "Yeah, that's better. Help me up."

Henry stood and held out his hands to her. "On your feet."

Jo groaned as she was pulled to her feet. "I'm going to feel that for a while."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded. "I'll get a check-up just in case."

Henry watched as Hanson was lifted onto a stretcher. "Go with him. I'll stay here and help CSU process the scene."

"You sure?"

"Yes. We've seen almost everyone's room. The tortures they endured were not carried out in those rooms. I might be able to shed some light on what happened in whichever room the suspects used."

"Okay." She pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it to Henry. "Keep Hanson and I posted."

"I will."

"Wait up." Jo followed Hanson from the room. "I'll ride with him."

Henry looked around the room and noticed the security controls had not been damaged in the fire-fight. He grabbed a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on as he walked to the controls. Most of the screens had been shot, but two monitors were still functioning. By trial and error, Henry was able to figure out how to rotate through the camera feeds until he found a room with old blood stains on the wall. That was the room that he was looking for.

The CSU shift supervisor into the office. "Dr. Morgan?"

"Yes, that's me." The men shook gloved hands.

"Where should we start?"

Henry look back at the screens. "There should be a lounge somewhere. That's where I would start."

It would take hours to process the entire warehouse-turned-music studio. Henry wasn't needed to stick around for the entire process, so as soon as he had finished providing context in the lounge and arranging for the suspects' bodies to be taken to the morgue, he left the crime scene. Walking out of there was a relief. He stepped outside and took a deep breath.

 _ **London 1870…**_

 _Henry entered the shipyard after almost two weeks of walking to get home. He'd been afraid of being found and dragged back to the lab the entire time. Even approaching his home had been a terrifying experience._ Was someone already there and waiting for him? Was he walking into a trap? _No one attacked him when he arrived, so if they had come here, they weren't when he finally entered. He had quickly washed up and put on something clean before condensing his belongings into the essentials he couldn't live without._

 _Now he was boarding a ship bound for France. He needed to put his much space between himself and Dr. Gower as he possibly could. This ship would disembark in Marseille. From there he planned to travel north until he came to Lyon or East to Nice. Perhaps he would travel into Italy or Switzerland or maybe even go as far as America. There he would lay low for a while until he was sure it was safe to return to London. Dr. Gower's death might be enough. He hoped there was a way for him to find out when that happened._

 _Henry stopped at the gangplank and turned around to look at the busy shipyard. He was still worried that someone was following him, but no one was there. He glanced at the London skyline. Church steeples were the highest points to look at. He smiled as he remembered the priest who had saved him from prison. He silently thanked him for helping him have the life he'd had so far. Henry turned back to the ship and climbed the plank to board. His life wasn't over yet._

 **Present day…**

A ringing phone brought Henry back to the present. "Hello?"

" _Henry, it's me. How's the crime scene going?_ "

"I've done what I could here. How are you feeling?"

Jo sighed. " _I feel fine. The doctor hasn't told me anything, so I'm going to be stuck here for a while_."

"Would you like me to come over?"

He could hear her smile. " _No, thanks. I'm good_."

Henry chuckled. "I should get started on the autopsies anyway. IAB will want to know what happened in there."

" _Right. You should_..." Jo trailed off and Henry could hear chaos in the background. " _Something's happening_."

"What is it?"

" _I don't know. You go get to work on those autopsies. I'll call you back_."

"Jo?" Henry looked at Jo's phone as the line went dead. "That's odd."

* * *

Lucas looked up as Henry entered. "Welcome back, Doc. One of the crash victims didn't make it. Her body is on table three. And one of tonight's victim's didn't make it either. I think they said his chest was crushed? Anyway, the hospital will be handling his autopsy. The suspects are on tables one and four."

"Are they prepped?"

"The crash victim is. Her name is Jeanine Matthews. The suspects arrived a few minutes ago."

Henry nodded. "Thank you, Lucas."

"Yeah." He paused to wait for some instructions. "Did you want me to prep them?"

"If you could. I need to change and wash up." Henry opened the door to his office.

"Sure thing, Doc."

The autopsies went smoothly. Jeanine Matthews had died because a blood clot had migrated from where it formed in her collapsed lung into her brain. Once there, it had cut off the blood flow to her brain. The doctors had done what they could to get rid of the clot before and after it moved, but she had died before the treatment could work. The suspects took longer to complete because Henry had to find the bullets and document everything about it for both ballistics, who would test the bullets, and IAB's investigation. From the number of officers and detectives who'd been hurt, Henry didn't think anyone involved would be in trouble, but he had to do his part anyway. Henry finished up with the autopsies and scrubbed the blood off his arms before going into his office to finish the reports.

Henry was in the middle of typing up the first report when Jo's phone rang again. "Jo?"

" _Yeah, it's me_."

"What was the commotion earlier?"

Jo cleared her throat. " _There was a patient who went missing. I didn't get much information_."

"Have they been found?"

" _No. He still missing. The doctors are in a panic. I guess he's bedridden because he can't move his body_."

Henry froze. "Which hospital are you at?"

" _St. Luke's. Why?_ "

"And the patient's name?"

" _James Smith. Which sounds like it might be fake…_ "

"I'm on my way."

" _Henry, what's up?_ "

"James Smith is Adam."

* * *

Jo met Henry at the front desk. "I assume you know the way?"

"I do."

"Henry!"

Henry turned around. "Abraham. What are you doing here?"

"The hospital called about... our friend. What happened?"

"I'm here to figure that out. Go home. I'll talk to you about this tonight."

"You sure?" Abe looked reluctant to leave.

Henry put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I promise. See you tonight."

Abe left and Henry went up to Adam's room with Jo at his side. The doctors on this floor were all talking among themselves. None knew what happened or how the patient had disappeared from the building. Henry led the way to the room, listening to the whispered conversations along the way. From what he was hearing, no one had seen Adam disappear. Henry entered the room; inside, a doctor was speaking to a detective.

The detective looked up when Jo and Henry walked in. "This isn't a homicide, Martinez."

"I'm not here for this. Dr. Morgan was acquainted with the patient."

"You knew Mr. Smith?"

"Not well, but I am his emergency contact. Do we know what happened?"

The detective put his notebook away. "No. The doctors didn't see anything and the security cameras didn't catch anything either. We don't know what happened."

The doctor and detective left the room. Henry looked over the room. Adam had been connected to life saving machines because his mind was no longer able to control the actions of his body. A lot of the wires and tubes were still touching the bed on both sides. If someone had taken him, at least one side of Adam's bed would be clear. Adam had not been abducted; he had found a way to die.

"Henry?"

"He found a way to die."

Jo moved into the M.E.'s line of sight. "So what does that mean?"

"It means he's going to come after me. He's going to be angry that I trapped him in his mind." Henry looked at Jo. "We are going to be in danger."

* * *

 **A/N: And that's it for this case. I'll be taking a couple weeks off to proofread the next case and then I'll be back. Stay tuned!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note:** **I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, parkin24, SSTrans and superlc529 for their reviews. superlc529:** I think Hanson's kids will be good to their father. I put together a timeline of Henry's life events that are shown or mentioned in the show. By 1870, Henry had died in an avalanche in the Klondike (modern day: Alaska), and been blown up on a Hudson Bay Company ship. After 1870, he travels back and forth between New York and London (1888: the first medical examiner ever in the Jack the Ripper case in London: 1890's: treating immigrant families in New York, 1945: In London with Abigail) as well as around the world. So he has been to the New World before and after being tortured by Dr. Gower. The reality is that Henry doesn't stay put for very long after that until he is with Abigail and Abraham. I'm thinking that he stays in France for a few years and then travels back to London before heading to New York when immigration raises in the US. And I'm looking forward to writing more of Adam's parts. **parkin24:** Thank you for clarifying the class clown monster thing. I think writing for Adam will be interesting going forward. And I'm glad you're enjoying the "episodes". **KenH:** Yep, Adam is out there again. I have some plans for him and I'm looking forward to putting those plans on paper (Literally. I write everything in composition notebooks first). I want Henry to have moments where he can see that his condition isn't a curse, so look forward to more of that in the future. The drawing wasn't quite as complicated as a gameplan, but it was close.

 **So, I know it's been a few weeks, but this case/chapter starts right where the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 22

Henry looked at Jo. "We are going to be in danger."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Jo glanced at the door. "Maybe not. You told me he viewed his actions as part of a game. Maybe he'll understand."

"No, there is no 'understanding' with him. Don't you see? I wouldn't play by his rules."

"Look, we'll figure something out, but the first step is to not freak out."

"Have you ever been hunted by an immortal psychopath?"

"No, I can't say I have." Jo glanced at the door again. "That being said, giving in to his mind games is exactly what Adam wants. Don't let him suck you in again."

Henry sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one freaking myself out." She noticed the detective was returning. "We should go."

The detective walked back in. "So, I hear the doctor has a great gift for observation. Any insights?"

Henry looked back over the room. "What is curious to me is that the various lines and tubes are all still touching the bed. Normally the side the patient gets off the bed is clear. Perhaps the abductor put the lines back on the bed, though I'm not sure why they would do so. There is only one door to this room. My suggestion is to review the security footage and look for signs that the recording had been tampered with somehow."

The detective nodded. "Yeah, we're already looking into that. Thanks though."

Jo had walked away halfway through Henry's analysis of the room, but she was coming back now. "Reece called. There's a body near the East River. We should go."

Henry followed Jo back to the car. "It won't be Adam's body."

Jo smirked. "Hey, girl can dream right?"

* * *

Lieutenant Reece was waiting for them when they arrived. "Detective, Dr. Morgan. The body's over here."

Jo matched her pace with the Lieutenant while pulling on a pair of gloves. "What do we have, Lou?"

"Caucasian male, mid 40's to early 50's. No I.D., but you'll see why in a second."

They rounded the bushes and saw the victim. "He's naked." Jo had stopped short.

"Mm-hm." Reece nodded. "A witness said he saw a naked man come out of the river, attack a man who was walking by, and pull him into the bushes. Now, we don't know which man this is…"

Henry knelt down next to the victim. "This man was the one who was dressed. There isn't a lot of water on his body and his hair is dry."

"The call came in an hour ago. There's no way to know…"

"It's the presence of Seborrheic dermatitis that gives it away. A form of dry scalp, also known as dandruff. If he had recently been in the river, there would be fewer flakes in his hair as the water would have washed most of the flakes away."

Reece shook her head. "Anyway, the witness couldn't call in the attack because his phone had died while he was playing Pokemon Go, so he ran for help. By the time he got back, the two men had vanished. The responding officers found the victim."

"Blunt force trauma."

Jo crouched. "Is that the cause of death?"

"I'm not going to call it just yet. This blow, at the very least, incapacitated the victim." Henry gestured to the matted blood in the victim's hair.

"Why take his clothes?" Jo stood up.

Henry stood and looked at the victim. He wasn't a tall man. He was only about 5'10", and his build was slight; he probably weighed 170 pounds at most. Henry paled slightly. The victim had been attacked by a naked man who had emerged from the river. The killer had then striped the victim of his clothes. Henry knew who had killed the victim, but there was no way he could say anything about it.

Henry looked at Jo and realized that she had figured it out too. "That I'm not sure of. Although, if the killer was naked, he probably took the clothes and put them on."

"Oh, that's an image I didn't need." Reece looked disgusted, and she seemed to be oblivious to the looks Henry and Jo were trading. "There are some apartments across the street. I'll get some uniforms to see if anyone saw anything. You'll be flying solo for most of this case, Detective."

"Okay." Jo jerked her head and Henry followed her. "This was Adam, wasn't it?"

"That is my assumption."

"What do we do?"

"When Julian Glausser was murdered by Adam, I… may have lied about the DNA being inconclusive."

"Henry!" Jo looked around. "What do you mean, you lied?"

"The blood had antibodies in it for diseases that don't exist anymore. What was I supposed to do? Admit that the killer was immortal?"

Jo sighed. "No, you're right."

"I can say there was no DNA to test or that the results were inconclusive again." Henry waved Lucas over. "I'm sorry, but that's the best I can do under the circumstances."

* * *

 _ **Amsterdam 1957…**_

 _Henry stood at the window, looking out at the canal. "It looks like Brouwersgracht must be busy. The water is higher today."_

 _Abigail smiled as she folded the laundry. "I think you spend a little too much time noticing the height of the water in the canals, Henry."_

 _Henry turned around. "When the water level is higher, the hospital is busier with all the injured sailors and dock workers."_

" _Today is your day off. Don't worry about the hospital, Henry. They'll survive without you today."_

" _Yes, you're right. Today is a beautiful day. We should enjoy it."_

 _A twelve-year-old Abraham raced down the narrow stairs. "Mom, Dad, can we go watch the boats?"_

 _Abigail smiled. "What a wonderful idea, Abraham. Your father and I were just talking about going out today. I'll pack a lunch."_

 **Present Day...**

It was very late when the body arrived at the morgue, but Henry and Lucas got to work on the external exam anyway. Swabs were run across various areas of the body and photographs were taken. Henry took a closer look at the head wound as well. It looked like Adam had used a rock to knock this man out. The size and depth of the wound suggested that the rock was about the average size of an adult male's palm.

"Lucas, hand me the reference scale." Henry took the ruler from his assistant and held it up for Lucas to snap the picture. "It looks like the killer used a rock from the river as a weapon."

Lucas took two more pictures. "There's something in the wound. Part of the rock, maybe?"

"Most likely." Henry tweezed the gravel out of the wound. "We should pick this up in the morning."

"Hey, so I was going to a bar tonight. Want to come? I could use a wingman."

Henry peeled off his gloves. "Not tonight, Lucas. It's a bit late for that when we have an autopsy to complete in the morning. Perhaps next time."

"Okay. Goodnight, Henry."

* * *

When Henry got home, Abe was waiting for him in the living room. "What happened? Is Adam out there again?"

"Yes, Abraham, I'm afraid he is."

"How?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do you want to do?" Abe glanced around the room. "If you say we're leaving, I'll come with you. It's only fair. I told you to stay last time and Adam only got worse. If you want to go, we'll go."

Henry thought about it. "No, we're staying. Adam tried to ruin my life, our lives. I'm not going to let him drive us away from here."

Abe nodded slowly. "Okay. We'll stay. But we should be ready to run. You know, just in case."

Henry sighed. "At least Jo knows now."

"Well, yeah, but what can she do? You can't arrest him. He'd just have to kill himself and escape."

"But in escaping he would make himself a wanted fugitive." Henry looked up at Abe with an odd smile. "If he's a wanted man, things will get a lot harder for him."

The phone rang. Abe and Henry looked at each other and then Henry picked up. "Hello?"

" _Hello, Henry._ "

"Adam."

" _That was a good trick, trapping me in my head. I'll admit, I didn't see that coming. But then again, you really do believe that you won't have to kill during this life, don't you?_ " Adam was sounding as creepy as Henry remembered.

"No, I'm not like you."

" _Yes, you are. You just haven't figured that out yet. By the way, have you died since we saw each other last?_ "

"Yes, I have. Your precious theory was wrong."

" _So it would seem. No matter. I'll think of something else_."

"This isn't a game, Adam."

Adam chuckled. " _Of course it is. Life and death is always a game. You'll figure that out. Eventually_."

Henry took a deep breath. "What do you want?"

" _Let's see, what do I want? I assume you're working the murder of the naked man down by the river?_ "

"What about him?"

" _I only killed him for his clothes. It wasn't personal. Still, I'd rather not be arrested for it._ "

"And why would I help you avoid that?"

" _Because if I end up in prison because of you, I'll make sure your life is a living hell after that. Everyone you care for, everyone you love, they will all be fair game. Including Abraham_."

Henry paled. "And if I leave you alone?"

" _Abraham stays safe. And I will leave you alone for a few months. After all, you won the last round._ " And with that, Adam hung up.

Abraham watched Henry hang up the phone. "What was that all about?"

Henry turned to his son. "He made it clear that if we arrest him, he would make sure we'd regret it."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, if I help the police put him in jail… you will no longer be safe."

 _ **Amsterdam 1957...**_

 _Abigail was packing up the dishes to head home. "This was a lovely day. Thank you, Abraham."_

 _Abe was smiling and waving at the boats. "Do we have to go home now?"_

 _Henry smiled at Abigail. "I don't see why we can't stay for a little while longer."_

 _Abigail smiled too. "Very well. We'll stay."_

 _Abe's smile widened as he turned back to the boats. Henry looked down the canal. The boats moved steadily up and down the canal. Some of the boats were tiny, carrying only passengers, and others were much larger. The larger boats were bringing goods from the ships to the docks where they would be unloaded and transported to the warehouses and then the stores. These also tended to be the boats that had the most injuries because the boats were almost too big for the canals._

 _BANG!_

 _The crash echoed up the canal. Henry jumped to his feet and scanned down the waterway. People were scrambling away from the canal a few feet down. As the crowd thinned, Henry could see what was happening. A steam powered ship had misjudged the width of the passage and run into a dock while trying to avoid a smaller boat. The crash had damaged the hull and the boat was taking on a lot of water._

 _Henry shed his suit coat. "Abigail, stay here with Abraham. I'm going to help."_

 _Abigail stood up as Henry ran toward the boat. "Be careful, Henry!"_

 _When Henry was close to the boat, he dove in the water and swam the rest of the way. He pulled himself onto the boat. "Schiet op! De boot is aan het zinken! Je moet nu gaan! (Hurry! The boat is sinking! You need to leave now!)"_

* * *

 **A/N: I hadn't intended to put two flashbacks in this chapter, but they both fit in the narrative. The show established that Henry and Abe knew Dutch, so I wanted to explore how they would know the language, but how Abe would also be "rusty" with it. It was fun to write some fun, young Abe stuff to contradict Adam's moments too. What's Adam up to? Stay tuned to find out.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, foreverHenry919, superlc529 and SSTrans for their reviews. superlc529:** Yeah, I know what you mean. Adam was not bluffing; he knows what buttons to push to get Henry to comply (threaten Jo or Abe). The compliance may not be what he expects (ghost station in series finale) but Henry does sort of follow orders. And young Abe is fun to write. **foreverHenry919:** Almost missed the name change, parkin24. I'm glad you're enjoying this. The phone call was fun to write; Adam's voice was in my head the whole time, which made the process easy. **KenH:** I can't really answer any of your questions without revealing spoilers so I'll just say that we'll see what happens. **This chapter starts the next morning. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 23

Henry had arrived early the next day to get started on the victim's autopsy and was grateful to find that Lucas hadn't run the DNA yet. Henry had been taking Anneliese's advice and was trying to learn more about technology. He entered the DNA samples into the machine and set it to only inform him of the results. With that running, Henry opened the drawer the victim was in and pulled out the tray.

He folded the sheet back. "Interesting."

"Morning, Dr. Morgan. You're here early. What's interesting?"

"Can you fetch yesterday's photos, Lucas?"

"Sure." Lucas pulled up the photos on the computer. "What are you looking for?"

"The photos of his neck. I want to make sure these bruises weren't here last night."

Lucas looked through the photos. "No, no bruises. Maybe a slight discoloration. I don't know, what do you think?"'

Henry walked closer to the computer. "You're right. It's very subtle. Your eye is getting better, Lucas."

"You think so?" Lucas was smiling. "I mean, I just watch the way you work and try to figure out how you're noticing all this stuff."

Henry returned to the body. "Help me move him to the table."

"Yeah."

Once John Doe's body was on the table, Henry got to work. He explored the area beneath the head wound and discovered that the skull was intact. His brain, on the other hand, had a minor contusion. Even without the signs of strangulation, it was possible that the victim may have died from this injury. Henry also opened up his neck to discover the damage done there as well. _This is the C.O.D._

Reece walked into the morgue ahead of Jo. "Um, Doctor? Did you fillet his neck?"

"His hyoid bone was crushed. Our John Doe was struck on the head and then killed by manual strangulation. Even without that, he may have died anyway. There's a contusion near his brain stem that probably would have killed him eventually."

"Sounds lovely." Jo stopped by the table. "Those bruises weren't there yesterday."

"No. The refrigeration brought them to the surface." Henry folded the skin of the victim's neck back to where it belonged. "Had I done his autopsy last night, I might not have seen this."

"So the naked man hit him on the head and then strangled him." Reece looked at Jo. "Do you think this case could be about the naked man needing clothes?"

"It's… possible, I guess. Seems a bit extreme."

"I've seen men in here who were killed for less." Henry held open the victim's neck so Lucas could get a picture.

Reece looked away. "I would imagine there was DNA?"

"I'm running the samples now." Henry put the skin back. "We should have a profile in an hour."

"Okay. I think were done here."

Jo followed Henry to his office. "I thought you were going to say the DNA was inconclusive?"

"That's if it comes back to Adam. If there was another naked man in the river yesterday, he needs to pay for his crimes." Henry flopped into his chair. "It doesn't matter. Adam as good as told me he did it last night."

"He called you?" Jo sat across from Henry as he nodded. "Well, what did he want?"

"In exchange for not bothering me for a while, I am to make sure I don't help you put him in jail."

"You're not going to listen to him, are you?"

Henry sighed. "If I do help you put him in jail, Abe will no longer be safe."

"Oh." Jo sat back in her chair. "Henry, I'm not gonna ask you to put your son's life in danger."

"Thank you, Jo. Listen, Adam said I couldn't help you. If you found the evidence to arrest him without my involvement, he should only go after me." Henry was leaning forward, an intensity in his eyes that conveyed his words.

Jo sighed. "I don't know, Henry. Are you comfortable enough with that to actually risk it?"

"Abe and I talked about this last night. He feels that as long as I don't help the case, Adam should not feel that the efforts you and Lieutenant Reece make should affect us."

Jo looked at Henry in silence for a while. "You're sure about this?"

Henry nodded. "I am. And so is Abe."

"Okay. I hope you know what you're doing."

"I hope so too." He stood. "When the DNA…" His computer, a recent addition to this office, chimed as the results came in. "That's what I thought. This DNA does come back to Adam."

"So the DNA is going to be inconclusive."

Henry straightened with a thought. "Yes, it is. But there might be another way for you to identify him. After all, he can't have avoided all the security cameras in that area. But that wasn't my idea."

Jo smiled. "Of course not. You're already heading home and couldn't possibly be helping us."

Henry smiled and shed his lab coat. "You're right. Abe has suddenly taken ill and I need to care for him." His face fell. "I just hope that this arrangement works. Good luck on the case."

 _ **Amsterdam 1957…**_

 _Henry had broken down the door to the cabin of the boat and several crew members stumbled outside, coughing from all the smoke. One of the men choked out that a man was stuck and Henry rushed inside to help. The smoke in here was thick, making it hard to see. Henry dropped to the floor where the smoke was thinner. Up ahead, a man was trapped under some wood and he appeared to be unconscious._

" _Hou vol. (Hang in there.)" Henry lifted the wood and moved it away from the man. "Hoor je me? (Can you hear me?)"_

 _There was no response, so Henry grabbed his arm and pulled him upright. It took a lot of effort, but Henry managed to get him to the door. Two crew members had stayed behind to help and they grabbed the unconscious man. Henry took a moment to catch his breath as the man he'd dragged out was helped into a rowboat to be taken ashore. Henry stepped forward and his foot went through the deck as a couple boards gave way._

" _Dad!"_

 _Henry looked up. Abe had moved down the shore so he could watch what was happening. "Abe! I'll be fine. Go back to your mother!"_

" _Dad, I'll come help!"_

 _Henry sniffed and recognized the smell rising from the hole his foot was trapped in. "No! Stay there!"_

" _Dad!"_

" _Abe! Don't watch!"_

 _Henry heard, for the smallest of moments, the explosion before the heat washed over him and the sharp pain of his body tearing apart erased all thought and senses. Henry had felt this before, back in 1843, when a powder keg had exploded with him nearby. His head broke the surface of the water and he sucked in a deep breath. Normally his first fear was where he was going to find something to wear but, today, he was worried for his son._

* * *

 **Present Day…**

Abe looked up when the bells on the door chimed. "Henry, you're home early. What happened?"

"I'm distancing myself from the case so Adam knows I'm not helping."

"Ah." Abe locked up and flipped the open sign. "Let's go upstairs."

"I hope leaving this in Jo's hands will be enough to keep you safe."

"You need to stop worrying about that. If it does, great. If it doesn't, well, I've lived a good life."

"Abraham." Henry's brow was contracted in concern.

"Pops, it's fine. How did Jo take Adam's ultimatum?"

"Not well." Henry took off his coat and scarf. "She's not wanting to put you in danger, but she doesn't want to give in to Adam's demands either. This compromise we've come to is making her uneasy."

"Well, I can understand that."

"Yes." Henry smiled nostalgically. "Do you remember Amsterdam?"

"That's kind of hard to forget."

"For some reason, I'm reminded of that with this case."

Abe set down his glasses. "Pops, that was the first time I watched you die. And back then, I didn't know you were immortal. Do you realize how traumatizing that was?"

"Yes, I do. And, again, I'm sorry. I never intended for you to find out that way."

Abe shrugged. "Ah, well. I got over it a long time ago. But why does this case remind you of that?"

"I'm not sure." Henry sat in his armchair. "Perhaps it's just that both events happened around water."

"Maybe." Abe sat on the sofa. "Have you told Jo all your stories yet?"

"No. That would take months to do."

"Well, she's known for six months now."

Henry smiled. "If she has a question, I answer it. If something reminds me of a story, I tell her. However, I'm not going to bore her with every detail of my life."

"Why not? You've bored me with them." Abraham had a twinkle in his eyes as he said that.

"Name one time." Henry acted indignant, but the smile in the corners of his mouth betrayed him.

"Lots of times. Usually when I'm hearing the story for the fifth time."

"That's a bit different, Abraham."

Abe chuckled. "Yeah."

Henry looked at the phone. "I should warn Anneliese."

"Good idea. I'm gonna open the store again. You'll be okay?"

"Yes, Abe. I'll be fine." Henry lifted the phone from its cradle and dialed the number.

" _Alexis Deverodova_."

"It's Henry."

" _Henry! How are you?_ "

"I'm fine. Listen, I need to warn you. Adam is out there again."

It sounded like Anneliese had closed a door. " _I don't follow_."

"Pierre, Adam, whatever you want to call him. For the past six months, he's been in the hospital because of an air embolism in his brain stem. It's called Locked-In Syndrome."

" _The news story about the missing patient; that's him?_ "

Henry nodded even though Anneliese couldn't see him. "Yes. I don't think he knows about you, but you should be on your guard. Just in case."

" _Pierre was never a dangerous person. Henry, are you sure about him?_ "

"I'm sure. And three hundred years is a long time, Anneliese. He's changed."

" _Perhaps_." The door to the room she was in opened and a little noise poured in. She covered the receiver and a muffled conversation occurred.

Henry waited until the door closed again. "Are you at work?"

" _Sort of. I have some people from work here for a consultation. Remembering to pretend to still be a little injured is a pain, but I'm handling it. I've got to go, Henri. Thanks for letting me know. Au revoir_."

"Au revoir."

* * *

 **A/N: As of right now, Adam/Pierre has not discovered Anneliese is alive/immortal, so she has a hard time believing Henry's warning about the danger he poses. Stay tuned!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, superlc529, SSTrans, and norien for their reviews. norien:** That's interesting about the Latin. I just copied that bit straight from a website (Remove the spaces: adoremus 2007/12/31/ Latin-Prayers/#Anchor-Eternal-37516) and checked the conjugation for male and female, so I had no idea it was wrong. And don't worry about posting a reviewing because of a mistake. I love constructive criticism because it helps me learn and grow as a writer. Now, reviews that are just trashing me... that I don't like so much. But you're fine. Thanks for the help. **superlc529:** Thanks. I'd realized that I had been lacking in the Lucas department, so I really wanted to give him a moment to shine. Adam will not be crashing a party Anneliese is throwing. She is actually "still injured," at least publicly. She is working from home and some of her employees are at her loft to get approval for parties they are putting together. **This chapter starts about two hours before the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 24

Hanson looked up when Jo walked into the bullpen. "Doctor cleared me to sit at a desk, so I'm here. What took you so long to get back?"

"You do remember you were stabbed yesterday, right?"

"So?"

"Are you lying to me?" Hanson looked uncomfortable, so Jo dropped it for now. "I had a question for Henry. While I was there, the DNA came back. It was inconclusive. Apparently something in the river had corrupted the sample."

"So we got nothing."

Jo sat down. "Maybe not. In the elevator, I was thinking we could identify the killer by looking for the victim's clothing."

Hanson groaned. "You got the popcorn?"

"Nope."

Hanson got to work commandeering the traffic camera footage from the area. Jo worked on calling the businesses in that area to ask if they had security footage that faced the river at all. If they did, she gave their information to Hanson so he could get the warrant put together. They also grabbed all the police surveillance footage of the area. When everything was gathered, they started to watch.

"You know this could take forever, right?"

Jo nodded. "I know. But without DNA or prints, this is our only option."

Watching the footage was tedious. They had to figure out what the victim was wearing first. Two hours went by before they finally spotted him. He had been wearing a white, collared shirt, a black suit, and a tan trench coat. The tie was red with thin grey stripes and his shoes were black dress shoes. Now that they knew what clothes to look for, they could turn to the other tapes and search for their killer.

Lucas knocked on the A/V room's door. "Am I interrupting?"

Hanson waved him in. "No, no. We could use the break. Where's Henry?"

"He went home. I guess Abe is sick. I have an I.D. for the victim."

"Henry said that prints and DNA had come up with nothing." Hanson looked at Jo. "Didn't he?"

"He did."

Lucas held out a folder. "The ID came from his dental records. The victim's name is Joshua Gibbins. He's 53, and his address is in there."

Hanson typed in the victim's name. "Never married, lives alone. It looks like he works in the theater district, but he's not an actor." Hanson scrolled down a little. "He runs the Belasco Theatre."

"Looks like he was reported missing a few hours ago." Jo was reading over Hanson's shoulder.

Hanson looked at his partner. "Wanna take a field-trip?"

"When we're done watching the video, I'll grab Reece. She'll want to make sure we have a suspect to ask about first." She looked at Hanson's disappointed face. "You're not going anywhere on that leg of yours."

Hanson nodded and turned back to the screens. "I just want to be done with this."

Just over an hour later, Jo spotted the suspect first. Hanson was looking for the clothes, but Jo had the advantage of knowing his face. She recognized Adam as Henry's therapist, the man who had given them Clark Walker's name when they'd been chasing the historical killers copycat. And there he was on the screen. He had the shirt, pants, and shoes on; the tie was hanging out of his pants' pocket, he was putting on the suit coat and the trench coat was over his shoulder.

Jo paused the video. "Is that…? That's Henry's therapist."

"The one he saw for sleepwalking?"

"Yeah." Jo zoomed in on the man's face and took a screenshot. "His name is… Dr. Lewis Farber."

Hanson typed the name in. "That's not right."

"What?"

"I have two Dr. Farber's. Both have been reported missing; one was found dead four years ago, the other went missing a year ago. Just after…"

"Just after Henry killed Clark Walker."

Hanson looked at Jo. "What are the odds?" Jo shook her head. She had no idea.

* * *

On their way to talk to Dr. Farber's widow or waiting wife, Jo made sure they stopped at Bellevue. When Jo had been in his office with Henry, she had noticed a framed picture of his family. The hospital had confirmed that they still had everything in his office in storage. It took a little digging, but she was able to retrieve it. She took a photo of the picture with her phone and left the picture in storage.

Reece was driving. "You got a picture of the family portrait?"

Jo held up her phone. "Yeah, I got it. Let's go."

* * *

Mrs. Farber let the detectives in. "My kids are at school. This has something to do with my husband?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She led them into the living room and offered them seats. "I don't understand. He went missing four and a half years ago. His killer was never caught. Do you have information on his killer?"

"We have a photograph we would like you to look at." Jo pulled up the photo of the family portrait and handed it to the widow.

Her eyes bugged out. "Who is that man? Why is he in our family portrait?"

Reece leaned forward. "You don't know that man?"

"No." Mrs. Farber's accent, which had been subtly British, was becoming thicker. "Who is he?"

"He was working as a psychiatrist at Bellevue using your husband's name. He was reported missing a year ago."

"You think I had something to do with that?" Mrs. Farber looked shocked.

"No." Jo pointed to the screen. "We were wondering if you had ever seen this man before. Perhaps around the time of your husband's disappearance."

Mrs. Farber thought about it. "No, I'm sorry. I was spending a lot more time at work back then. My husband and I were basically living separate lives."

"Thank you, Mrs. Farber." Jo handed the widow her card and took back her phone. "If you do see him, please call me."

"I will." She walked the police to the door and bid them goodbye.

Jo and Reece returned to the car. "What do you want to bet her husband was killed by our suspect?"

"I would say very high. That family was from England. Did the man you met use an accent?" Reece got into the car.

"Yes, he did." Jo belted into the seat. "If he's not Dr. Farber, or British, he must have adopted everything about him for a while."

"Why would he do that, though?" Reece started the car. "What's the purpose?"

"Henry's stalker."

"What?"

"Henry recently told me that the calls have started up again. We assumed that when Henry killed Walker, and the calls stopped, that meant Walker was Henry's stalker. What if he was just our suspect's patsy?"

Reece glanced at Jo. "What are you saying, Jo?"

"Henry's therapist was the one who gave us Walker's name. He disappeared after Walker was killed." Jo was looking intently at Reece. "What if Walker's death is why the impostor disappeared for a while?"

"We'd have to get Henry to make the voice ID." Reece looked at Jo again. "How sick is Abraham again?"

"I doubt he's that ill. And we have to track this guy down first. Who knows how long that will take?" Jo turned her gaze out her window.

"You're right. So let's find him."

* * *

 _ **Amsterdam 1957…**_

 _Henry had managed to find a few rags to wear as he made his way back to his home. Abigail should have been able to get Abe home by now. What was he thinking right now? Did he believe his father had been killed in the explosion? Had he looked away in time? What had Abigail said to him? Well, he would find out soon enough. Up ahead, he could see the back door to his house._

 _Abigail looked up as the door opened. "Oh, thank God. I was worried you wouldn't come back. What took you?"_

" _I had to find something to wear so I didn't make a scene. Where's Abraham?"_

" _Upstairs." Abigail handed Henry a towel and some clothes. "We have to tell him."_

" _Yes. There's no choice now." Henry started using the towel._

" _Should we prepare to move again?"_

" _I suppose that will depend on what the papers say tomorrow."_

" _I don't think anyone noticed who was stuck on the boat, Henry." Abigail ran her fingers through Henry's hair to comb it. "Everyone else was too far away."_

" _Let's hope that's true." Henry looked at the ceiling. "He's in his room?"_

" _Yes. He was in shock on the way home."_

 _Henry took off the rags and started to dress. "I'll go talk to him."_

 **Present Day…**

Abe came upstairs. "Store's closed for the day. What are you making?"

"Abigail's Chicken Soup. Here, try some." Henry scooped up some soup and let Abe taste it.

"Hmm. That's very good." Abe grabbed a couple bowls from the cupboard. "How'd it go with Anneliese?"

"She's torn. She knew Adam many years ago."

"You're kidding."

"No." Henry turned off the stove. "She knew him as a man named Pierre. Back then, he was a nice man who worked on her farm. They even courted one another. She doesn't want to believe that Pierre and Adam are the same man." He started ladling soup into the bowls.

"Does he know about her? You know, being immortal."

"I don't think so." Henry covered the pot and took his bowl to the table. "He said I was the only immortal he'd encountered."

Abe sat down. "That he knew of, apparently."

"Yes." They ate in silence for a moment. "I have to be careful when I talk to him to make sure I don't reveal her existence. I don't want her to have to go through this too."

"Not that I want him to hurt Anneliese, but if he discovers the woman he once loved is immortal, do you think he'd leave us alone?"

"For a time, perhaps, but I doubt it. I think he would revel in the fact that he has two lab rats to play with." Henry refilled his bowl.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Abe went to the stove and refilled his bowl too. "So, why the Chicken Soup?"

"Officially, you've taken ill and I came home early to care for you."

"Oh. Should I develop a cough while I'm in the store tomorrow?" Abe had a mischievous grin on his face.

"If you like."

"Yeah, I think I'll pass on that." The phone started to ring. "Do you want me to get that?"

Henry looked the phone with trepidation. "No, I'll get it." He stood and walked to the phone to answer it. "Hello?"

" _Hello, Henry. I noticed you went home early today._ "

"I'm doing what you asked and staying away from the case."

" _I know. So tell me, Henry. What are the cops doing looking into my former therapy practice?_ "

"I don't know. I'm not giving them any assistance or ideas."

There was a long pause. " _I believe you, Henry. I had another question for you._ "

"And what is that?"

" _Is there another immortal besides you and me?_ "

* * *

 **A/N: Dun-dun-dun! Stay tuned!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, superlc529, and SSTrans for their reviews. SSTrans:** You'll have to stay tuned to find out. **superlc529:** Don't worry, I understand what you're saying. I went back and forth initially between stealing the identity of Dr. Farber or letting Adam actually have a family. In the end I decided that he couldn't have a family because I have a hard time seeing a wife standing by him with everything he has done in the last 70-80 years (minimum). As for the rest, we'll have to see. **KenH:** Don't forget Reece. And thank you; I'm glad you're enjoying my tangled web. **phnxgrl:** Just making sure to show that Henry isn't the only capable member of the team. **This chapter starts right where the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 25

" _Is there another immortal besides you and me?_ "

Henry looked at Abe with fear in his eyes. "Not that I know of. Do you know of someone?"

" _I thought I saw a woman I knew a long time ago. She was walking with another woman, a friend I think. But I could be mistaken. She wasn't walking very well. And it has been 300 years._ "

"I often feel as though I'm seeing people I've known once in faces I pass on the street. Scientifically speaking, considering our extended lifetimes, that is a very common occurrence."

There was another long pause. " _Perhaps you're right. It was good to talk to you again, Henry. It's been so long since you last came to visit me._ " The line went dead.

Henry let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "I think he knows about Anneliese. He saw her today. For now, he's not sure, but I have no doubt that he'll know for sure soon."

"You need to warn her."

"I know. I'll have to wait, though. If he's watching us and I dial someone right now, he would know for certain immediately."

Abe nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's finish eating and then I've got to go to bed."

"Alright. I wanted to go down to my laboratory. I'd like to try and figure out how Adam managed to escape his condition."

"You're not thinking of literally putting yourself in his shoes, are you?" Abe slowly sat down again.

"No, no. This is more of a thought exercise." Henry returned to the table. "Don't worry. I won't interrupt your beauty sleep."

Abe chuckled. "At my age? I need all the beauty sleep I can get."

* * *

Hanson hobbled into the precinct on crutches the next morning to find Jo already at her desk. "Did you sleep here last night?"

Jo ignored the question. "I think I found him."

Hanson shed his coat. "Who?"

"Our suspect. I ran facial recognition through the DMV database. This guy has three aliases on file in the state of New York. Dr. Louis Farber, Geoff Andrews, and Benjamin Weisberger. The first two are dead ends, but Weisberger has an apartment not far from Henry's place. He's got to be living there."

"You said Henry's mystery calls had started up again? Living near his target? That's textbook stalker behavior."

Jo nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking."

"You got a warrant yet?"

"Lou's working on it." Jo turned in her chair to watch Lieutenant Reece on the phone. "We should have it soon."

Lieutenant Reece looked through her window and nodded at Jo. "Looks like you got your warrant." Hanson leaned back in his chair. "You two have fun."

Jo took the keys Hanson tossed her. "I'll try. Go home. You should be taking care of that leg."

Hanson leaned his crutches against his desk. "Yes, mother."

* * *

Jo pulled into a spot around the corner from Weisberger's apartment. "Let's hope he's home."

Reece checked her gun. "I'm ready."

They got out of the car and walked toward the building. Walking down the stairs to the sidewalk was their suspect. "Freeze! Benjamin Weisberger, NYPD! You're under arrest!"

Adam looked at them calmly. "Detective Martinez, Lieutenant Reece. To what do I owe the inconvenience?"

Reece moved forward, gun out, with Jo covering her. "Hands up, Weisberger!"

Adam raised his hands lazily. "Out of curiosity, what am I suspected of doing?"

"You killed a man by the river and took his clothes." Reece holstered her gun and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "Turn around."

"As you wish." Adam turned around and let Reece cuff him. "Did Henry lead you to me?"

"How do you know Dr. Morgan, Mr. Weisberger?"

Adam scrutinized Jo. "I would have thought you would recognize me, Detective Martinez."

"I do. I just want to hear you say it."

"Ah." Adam smirked.

"But before you say anything. 'You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.' Do you understand these rights?"

"Yes, I do." Adam turned back to Jo. "I was his therapist. That's what you want me to say, isn't it?"

"And now we have you on identity fraud and practicing medicine with a stolen license." Jo lowered her gun. "Want me to search him?"

"I got it." Reece patted Adam down and pulled a straight razor from his inside breast pocket. "What is this for?"

"Well, if you would be so kind as to slit my throat, you'd find out."

Reece just stared at him for a long time. "What kind of sick bastard are you?"

"The kind you'd call crazy, but I assure you, I'm not." Adam smirked as he stared at Jo. "You know what I mean, don't you… Detective?"

Jo worked hard to keep her face a mask of calm. "I'm sure I don't."

"Interesting. I would have thought Henry would have told you I was immortal by now."

"Clark Walker had that same delusion. I'm beginning to wonder if you're the one who gave it to him."

Reece pushed Adam forward. "Come on, Weisberger. You're halfway to prison already."

"Prison won't hold me. You'll see."

* * *

The Lieutenant was in the Observation Room with Hanson and Jo, looking at Adam. "He admitted to the identity theft and practicing medicine with a stolen license after he was read his rights."

Hanson looked at Jo. "Why would he do that?"

Jo shrugged. "I don't know. But, because he confessed to working under the stolen identity, he's now the prime suspect for the abduction and murder of the original Dr. Farber." Jo tapped the folder in her hands against her thigh. "We don't have enough for those charges, but we have enough for the murder of the naked man by the river."

Reece shook her head. "All we have is a photo. That's hardly enough to charge him with murder."

"You were right as of last night." Hanson held up a photo from the folder in his hands. "CSU searched this guy's apartment and found the victim's clothes. And the rock he used to knock him out."

"You found DNA?"

Jo held up the folder in her hands. "Lucas ran the samples. The victim's DNA is on the clothes and rock. This guy's DNA," Jo gestured to Adam, "was also on both sources."

"I thought Henry said the DNA was corrupted,"

"On the body, yes. Not on the clothes and rock."

"Good. Now try to see if we can get him to confess to that." Reece stood out of the way so the detectives could enter the room.

Hanson entered first. "So, Mr. Weisberger. What's your real name?"

"My condolences on your stab wound, Detective. That must be painful."

"Answer the question." Hanson grimaced as he fell into a chair.

"You ran my prints and DNA. If you didn't get a name from that, I'm afraid I'm not all that inclined to provide it for you."

Hanson looked at Jo, a little amused by the suspect. "He thinks he's a tough guy."

Jo sat at the table. "When I met you a year ago, I bought your false accent. So, where are you really from?"

Adam smirked at Jo again. "You're trying to hide how much you know about me. I'd find it amusing if it wasn't so obvious."

Jo made sure she looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I know Henry has told you about me. What is the name he said I went by?"

Jo's eyes were hard. "If you're his phone call stalker, then the name you use is Adam."

"Stalker." Adam sat back. "That's all I am to you?"

"Yes."

Hanson snapped his fingers in front of Adam's face. "Hey, you're going to have to explain a little better, buddy."

Adam slowly brought his eyes to Hanson. "As I said earlier, I'm immortal. So is Henry. And you were right, Detective. Clark Walker was a patient of mine and I did manage to convince him that my… condition was contagious. I sent him into Henry's home to force the good doctor to kill a man. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Hanson looked at Jo. "This guy's nuts."

"Yep." Jo sat back in her chair. "Look, 'Adam,' I get that a psychiatric ward would be an easier place to serve a prison sentence, but I'm not buying your folktale. It's time to tell the truth. Did you, or did you not, kill Joshua Gibbins?"

"Who?" Adam looked confused.

Hanson slapped a photo on the table. "This man. Here he is ten minutes before his death," Hanson started laying photos on the table, "and here you are, thirty minutes later, wearing a dead man's clothes. Those clothes were found in your apartment with the rock you used to bash his head in. Ringing any bells?"

"Ah, yes. He did have a nice suit." Adam looked up. "You see, detectives, after I was reborn in the river, I needed something to wear. He was wearing something nice, so I killed him for it. It wasn't personal."

Jo knocked on the door and two uniforms came in. "Get this man to Rikers to wait for a psych eval. I'm done with him today."

Adam was taken away and Jo let out a sigh. He could see it. She tried so hard to hide the fact that she knew about Henry's immortality, but Adam had seen through her façade in an instant. Was it because he knew she'd been following Henry to the ghost station or had he seen something in her face? Either way, she was worried. Henry said Adam would come after them. For the first time, she actually understood what that meant.

Hanson looked t Jo. "What was his fascination with you all about?"

"Henry and I are close. As Henry's stalker, he would know that. He's just trying to get under my skin."

"Did it work?"

"No." Jo pushed off the wall. "How long before his evaluation?"

Hanson followed her out to their desks. "That'll have to wait. The psychiatrist has a full schedule today out at Bedford. He won't be at Rikers until tomorrow."

"Okay. I'm going to go tell Henry about what happened." She grabbed her keys.

"Okay. Tell Abe to get better soon."

* * *

 ** _Amsterdam_ _1957..._**

 _Henry and Abigail went upstairs and Abigail knocked on Abraham's door. "Abe? Can I come in?"_

" _I don't want to talk to you!"_

 _Abigail turned the knob and opened the door. "Abe, I need to tell you something. It's about your father."_

 _Abe's face was red from crying. "What do you mean?"_

" _He's… different… from most people. What you saw today…"_

 _Henry stepped into the room. "It wasn't permanent."_

 _Abe looked stunned. "Dad?"_

 _Henry nodded. "Yes, it's me. I'm... well, I'm not really sure where to start, so I'll just come out and say it. Abe, I'm immortal. What you saw today; yes, I was killed, but I always come back to life." He knelt by his son's bed. "Do you know what I'm saying?"_

 _Abe nodded, reaching out to touch his father's face. "You are real."_

" _Yes, I am."_

 _Abe smiled and threw his arms around Henry's neck. "You're alive!"_

* * *

 **Present Day...**

Henry was upstairs practicing on the piano when Jo came upstairs. "Abe sent me up. I hope you don't mind."

Henry stood up from the piano bench and smiled. "No, not at all. Come in."

"We got him. Adam. And now I'm a little afraid of him."

Henry became concerned. "What happened?"

"He could tell that I knew your secret. I- I tried to hide it, but he could tell. Even said you and he are immortal in front of a camera. He's at Rikers awaiting a psych eval now."

The phone started to ring. Henry body's stiffened and sucked in a hesitant breath. He looked at Jo with an expression that said he didn't want to answer it, but he lifted the receiver from the cradle anyway. "Hello?"

" _Henry, Henry. What did I say about putting me behind bars?_ "

"You said I shouldn't help the police. I didn't."

Adam chuckled. " _I see. And here I thought you understood that meant keep me **out** of prison._ "

"If that's what you wanted, you should have been more specific, then."

" _So it would seem._ "

Henry was breathing heavily. "Where does that leave us?"

" _I'll leave Abraham alone. After all, you did follow what I said. But you're not off the hook. And neither is Detective Martinez. I know she knows your secret, even if she won't admit it. If she doesn't know, well… I'll just have to make sure she does._ "

"Leave her out of this!"

" _Sorry, Henry, but I can't do that. Goodbye._ "

Jo had been watching the exchange. "What is it?"

Henry hung up. "You were right. He does know that you know my secret. And he's going to come after you too."

* * *

 **A/N: And that's the end of this case. I'll be taking a couple weeks off to finish typing up and editing the next case, so stay tuned for that.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: First thing I would like to do is apologize for the gap between postings. Life got in the way and kept me from my computer. But I'm back now!** **I'd like to thank KenH, phnxgrl, foreverHenry919, superlc529, and Nat for their reviews. Nat:** I'm glad you found this story. Hopefully you will enjoy it. **superlc529:** Thanks. It was fun to write the Adam scenes. It's not so much that young Abe took Henry's condition well. He's just relieved that his father is alive. It will take some time before young Abe gets to the point that 18-year-old Abe was at when he headed to Vietnam. And Henry did alert Anneliese, I just didn't show it. Sorry, I thought Henry saying he would wait a little bit made it clear. And yes, Adam is on suicide watch. You don't ask a police lieutenant to slit your throat for you and not get put on suicide watch. **foreverHenry919:** Thank you. I wasn't sure if his voice was just in my head, so I'm glad you could hear it too. **KenH:** Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to you too. In all the research I've done, epithelial (skin cells) DNA doesn't have antibodies in it. Saliva would have some of the antibodies, but I think when DNA is being compared between two samples, the antibodies in one sample would not come up. At least I can't find anything that refutes that. **Just to update you on the timeline, t** **he last two cases were in November 2015 and this next case is set in early January 2016.** **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 26

Henry walked into the kitchen to see Abe scouring some books. "Morning, Abe."

"Hey." He sounded distracted.

Henry turned to look at his son. "Abe, is everything all right?"

"I've been doing some research on my parents. I'm trying to figure out how I was even born."

Henry sat at the table. "What do you mean?"

"They got to Auschwitz on the 26th of June 1944. My mother was pregnant when they got there. It says it right here." Abe pointed in the ledger Adam had given him. "After 1942, the SS were carrying out 'selections' when the Jews arrived and that didn't end until November of 1944. That means she would have been sent to the gas chambers right away."

"Maybe she wasn't showing when they arrived."

"No, that's not it. Read the entry."

Henry took the ledger. "Let's see, 'pregnant on arrival, approximately six months, selected for execution.' She was sent to the gas chambers."

"That's what it says. So how was I born in '44?"

"Are you questioning the record's authenticity or your birth date?"

Abe shook his head. "I'm trying to fill in the blanks. I was born in Auschwitz, but these records say she was sent to die. I want to know what happened."

The phone started to ring. "I'm sure we'll find the answers." Henry picked up the phone. "Dr. Morgan speaking. Good morning, Jo. Yes, I'll be there shortly."

* * *

The crime scene was on a subway platform. When Henry got closer, he could see the victim was a woman in her 50's with dyed blonde hair, wearing a casual pantsuit. As Henry approached, a train stopped and everyone getting off was directed to the exit quickly. The bloody crime scene was roped off with police tape, but nothing was keeping looky-loos from seeing the body. Lucas was struggling to put together a privacy screen. Jo noticed and went over to help.

Detective Hanson saw Henry first. "Morning, Doc. Victim's name is Victoria Mueller. We found her purse in a dumpster upstairs. Looks like a mugging gone wrong. Mugger grabs her purse, she struggles, mugger stabs her twice and leaves the knife in her chest."

"That's a fair preliminary theory."

Hanson smirked. "Thank you."

"You're wrong though."

Hanson's face fell. "What do ya mean, Doc?"

"This wasn't just a mugging." Henry pointed to the blood pool. "Notice the void. A child was standing right there. This was a kidnapping as well."

"Come on, Doc. Not every crime has to be a complicated case."

Jo came over with a tablet as Lucas finally put the privacy screen up. "Security footage of the attack just came through."

She hit play. On the screen, the victim exited the train with a toddler clutching her hand. They stopped for a moment and Ms. Mueller opened her purse to fetch a snack for the young boy. Behind her, a figure grabbed her shoulder, turning her around and stabbing her twice in the chest. Mueller collapsed with the knife still buried in her chest. The boy watched, hands clutching his snack with his eyes wide.

The figure grabbed the purse and the boy and fled up the stairs in the middle of the panicked crowd. "I hate when you're right, Doc. I'll issue an Amber Alert and BOLO."

Jo looked at Henry as Hanson limped away. "You said this was a kidnapping? How could you possibly know that?"

"The blood told me. There's a void where the boy was standing. Ms. Mueller was bleeding out very quickly, a severed Pulmonary Artery or..." Henry paused to assess the injury, "the Aorta perhaps. If the killer was just after the purse, all they had to do was take it from her arm as the victim fell and then run towards those stairs. But he didn't. Instead, he grabbed the little boy too. In order to reach him, the killer had to step in the blood pool, which is how he left those bloody footprints."

"Well, uni's already followed the trail. That's how they found the purse in the dumpster. The footprints end there."

Henry started to follow the footprints. "I'd like to see the dumpster."

Jo went with Henry. "What are you thinking?"

"Perhaps the killer left something besides the purse in the dumpsters."

"Well, it wasn't the boy. There's no sign of him." Jo opened the dumpster. "This is where the purse was."

Henry glanced in the dumpster, but he was more interested in the nearby puddle. "He was standing in the puddle. It washed enough blood off his shoes that the trail wasn't visible."

Jo waved over one of the crime lab techs. "Get a sample of this water."

"Do you have a black light?" The tech handed it over and Henry switched it on. "Thank you."

Henry held the light close to the ground near the puddle. A shoeprint that had been invisible lit up. Henry and Jo followed the prints for half a block, but the prints faded until they disappeared. Henry knelt down and held the black light closer to the ground to try and find the next step, but it was no use. The prints had disappeared. Disappointed, the pair returned to the subway station.

Hanson noticed them come back. "Where'd you go?"

"I wanted to look at the dumpster."

"Henry figured out why the blood trail stopped." Jo held up her phone to show him a photo. "There was a puddle at the dumpster that washed away the visible blood. Using a black light, we know the suspect went North, but even that trail faded out."

Hanson held up his notebook. "Well, Ms. Mueller works at an orphanage in the city. To be honest with you, I didn't know any of those still existed. Anyway, she was bringing the boy to his new parents. Boy's name is Gavin. His picture is on the Amber Alert now."

"Good."

Hanson tucked his notebook in this coat pocket. "So, where do you want to go first?"

* * *

"Vicki was the best. She could talk to the kids, even the ones who were despondent. Get them to open up. I don't know how she was able to do that."

Jo sat across from the orphanage administrator. "We understand she was with a young boy named Gavin. What's his story?"

"His parents were killed during a home invasion. Gavin was three. From what Vicki could get out of him, his mom hid him in the closet."

"Do you know when this crime occurred?" Henry was examining some of the pictures on the walls.

Sister Alice nodded. "Almost. He came to us in July of last year. The ninth, I think."

Hanson sat up. "What can you tell us about his new family?"

"The Carters have been patrons here for a long time. They adopted two other children from here as well. Gavin couldn't be placed into a kinder home."

Henry moved to stand behind Jo. "Did Gavin not have any other family?"

Sister Alice paused. "He did have an uncle, but he was in prison when Gavin's parents were killed. He was ruled unfit."

Hanson clicked his pen. "We're going to need his name."

"Hunter Peterson."

Jo sat up as Hanson left the room to run his name. "Did Victoria usually take the children to their new homes through the subway?"

"It's not uncommon. Victoria would take the children who didn't trust anyone else. Gavin was very attached to her."

"How many children are placed within the city?"

"Not many. Most are adopted in Connecticut or on the West Coast. And that's if they're adopted. Many turn eighteen without getting that chance. We'll let them stay until they have other options, but we can't let them stay indefinitely."

Henry had taken Hanson's vacated seat. "Of those who have aged out, how many blame Ms. Mueller or your organization?"

"I… don't know. We haven't gotten any threats, if that's what you mean."

Jo handed Sister Alice her card. "We'll be in touch."

Hanson met them just outside the office. "Hunter Peterson is on his way to the station. He got out a month ago."

The group headed downstairs to leave, but Henry heard faint singing and decided to investigate. Jo and Hanson followed him, not understanding what he was looking for. Henry could now make out that the song was "Happy Birthday." He opened a door and found a crowd of children and teenagers. Five were facing the rest; the youngest had her hands over her ears. Leading the singing was Anneliese de Lyon.

Hanson had seen her too. "Is that Alexis Deverodova?"

"Yes."

"I thought she was hurt."

Jo moved into the room. "It has been a few months."

Anneliese noticed them while the kids were clapping. She nodded to them and handed each of the five kids a wrapped gift. The youngest was no older than four and Anneliese had to kneel down to give her the gift. She grimaced as she stood back up, but the smile was back on her face; she was good. The injuries she had suffered would be mostly healed by now, but a little residual pain would be very normal.

She came over to them. "Detectives, Dr. Morgan. What brings you here?"

"A case. Victoria Mueller was murdered this morning." Jo was speaking in hushed tones as she showed Anneliese the victim's DMV photo. "Did you know her?"

"Yes, she is an amazing woman. She was supposed to be here for the party. Rose has been asking about her the entire time. What happened?"

"It's an ongoing investigation." Hanson pulled out his notebook. "How well did you know her?"

"We only saw each other once a month when I came to throw one of these parties. She was so warm and kind. Kids like Rose would open up when she was around."

Hanson looked up from his notes. "I don't see this place affording your company's services."

Anneliese laughed. "No, I do these for free. One a month for all the kids who have birthdays in that month. It brings a smile to their faces, so I enjoy doing it."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"This morning when she was getting… um… Gavin ready to go meet his new family. He was bummed he would miss the party." Her face became grave. "Is Gavin...?"

"He's missing." Jo gestured to some chairs outside the great room. Anneliese waved to one of the nuns and followed the detectives. "Did Victoria seem nervous or uneasy when she left?"

"I didn't see her for long, but no. She seemed normal. I asked if she'd be back for the party and she said she would. Said Rose might need her security blanket."

Hanson's brows contracted. "Security blanket?"

Anneliese smiled. "It was the nuns' nickname for her. She was like a security blanket for some of these kids. They need a friend, or a parent sometimes. Vicki always seemed to fill that role. She just had a way with kids."

"Do you know if she was ever threatened because of her work here?" Jo gestured to the stairs. "Sister Alice didn't seem to know."

Anneliese shook her head. "I wouldn't know. We didn't interact much. Like I said, I only saw her once a month. And I missed the last three months because of my… injury."

Henry glanced toward the great room. "There wasn't a party for the children?"

"I had Bonnee run them. She usually has Wednesday off, but when I asked for a volunteer to cover me, she stepped up."

Hanson tucked away his notebook. "Where do the gifts come from?"

"Donations; from me, mostly. Always something they'll need. A new outfit or a pair of shoes. The younger ones get a toy the first time if they don't need any clothes."

Jo stood. "Thanks for your time. We'll let you get back to the party."

Anneliese shook their hands. "I hope I've been helpful."

* * *

 **A/N: I know there wasn't a flashback in this chapter, but there will be starting next chapter. A word of warning: the flashbacks are long during the course of this case and they are a bit different than normal. Stay tuned!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, foreverHenry919, superlc529, KenH, and SSTrans for their reviews. SSTrans:** Don't worry about reviewing every chapter. I totally understand the work getting in the way thing. **KenH:** You're welcome. I was doing research on Auschwitz and came across a bit talking about the selection process. It made me realize that Abe really shouldn't have been born, so I wanted to explore an explanation for it. **superlc529:** I'm glad I'm still getting the voices right. And you are correct, the flashbacks will revolve around Abe, but Anneliese isn't his birth mother. I love your conspiracy brain though. Always interested in seeing your predictions. **foreverHenry919:** Glad you're still enjoying this story. **This chapter starts where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 27

Henry returned the shop to find that it was closed. He hurried to unlock the door and raced upstairs. The papers and books Abe had been looking at earlier were on and around the kitchen table, but Abe was nowhere to be seen. Henry quickly went through the house, but his son wasn't there. _He must have gone to the store_. Satisfied that his son was not in distress, Henry went down to his laboratory to retrieve his tools.

The door to the shop opened. "Henry?"

"Downstairs."

Abe came down the stairs. "Oh, good. I thought someone broke in for a moment."

"And I thought something had happened to you when I saw the store wasn't open. Did you go to the market?"

"No, I went down to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. I was hoping to find some firsthand accounts of the selection process. And I think I found something interesting." Abe held out a paper.

Henry took a look at the photocopy. "This is about a Nazi secretary named Ilse Krause. She reported to…" Henry looked at Abe, "Dr. Mengele."

"I know, that part isn't great. But look at the story."

 _ **Auschwitz  
June 16, 1944…**_

 _Ilse Krause stood beside Dr. Mengele, surveying the latest train full of Jews, POW's, political prisoners, and whomever else the Fuehrer's decrees had sentenced here. The political prisoners and captured solders would be sent to work in a separate part of the camp, but most of the rest would go straight to the "showers" where they would be slaughtered. The line of prisoners, some already in their stripped garb, shuffled off the train to where they would be checked out and sorted._

 _Ilse's eyes spotted a woman who was pregnant searching through the crowd. She would be no good to work with her protruding belly. She would be sent straight to her death, and her unborn child would suffer the same fate. Ilse glanced at Dr. Mengele. It seemed that this man wanted to have personally kill as many people, by the end of the war, as the four krematoria could in a day. He looked at the crowd with an expression that was between disgust and boredom, with a splash of contempt thrown in for good measure. He didn't care for the pregnant woman or her unborn child._

 _"Sieh sie dir alle an. Sie sind Parasiten. Wenn es nach mir ginge, würden sie alle getötet werden, sobald sie ankommen. Es sei denn, ich denke, sie sind für die Wissenschaft geeignet. (Look at them all. They're parasites. If I had my way, all of them would be killed when they arrived. Unless I thought they were fit for science, of course.)" Mengele was annoyed this morning. His experiments, especially the one she was not supposed to know about, must not be going well._

 _"Was ist mit dieser Frau, Doktor? (What about that woman, Doctor?)"_

 _"Die schwangere? Nein, sie passt nicht zu meinen Anforderungen. (The pregnant one? No, she doesn't fit my criteria.)"_

 _Ilse thought for a moment. "Während ich Ihre Notizen über die Fortpflanzungsorgane der Frau übertrug, habe ich bemerkt, dass Geburt beschrieben wird. Sie ist mindestens im sechsten Monat. Sie ist der perfekte Kandidat für Beobachtungen. (While transcribing your notes on a woman's reproductive system, I noticed there wasn't an observation of childbirth in the report. She's at least six months along. She's the perfect candidate for observation.)"_

 _Mengele thought about Ilse's proposal. "Sehr gut. Wenn Sie sie aus der Herde herausziehen können, bevor sie in die Kammer geht, werden wir ihre Schwangerschaft beobachten. (Very well. If you can extract her from the herd before she goes inside the chamber, we will observe her pregnancy.)"_

 _"Jawohl. (Yes, sir.)"_

 _Ilse rushed away from Mengele. The easiest way to get the woman away from the condemned was to beat her to "Little Wood" and wait for the woman to get to her. With Krematoria II and III down for the morning, that's where she would be sent. It was a very close race. By the time Ilse found the Untersturmführer to relay Dr. Mengele's order, the woman was already heading to the undressing area for Krematorium IV. Soon she would be told to strip for what they believed to be a decontamination process. Ilse kept an eye on her while relaying the message._

 _"Doktor Mengele ersucht, diese Frau seiner Kaserne zuzuordnen. (Doctor Mengele requests that this woman be assigned to his barracks.)" Ilse pointed to the pregnant woman._

 _The Untersturmführer was irritated with the interruption to his day. "Sie soll dekontaminiert werden. Was ist so besonders an ihr? (She's about to be decontaminated. What is so special about her?)"_

 _"Er möchte sie beobachten, während sie gebärt. (He wishes to observe her when she is in childbirth.)"_

 _The Untersturmführer scoffed. "Richten Sie ihm aus ein anderes Testobjekt auszuwählen. (Tell him to pick another subject.)"_

 _"Weigern Sie sich den Wünschen des Doktors Folge zu leisten, Untersturmführer? Vielleicht möchten Sie einer seiner Probanden sein?(Are you refusing the wishes of the Doctor, Lieutenant? Perhaps you wish to be one of his subjects?)"_

 _Untersturmführer Schmidt bristled. "Sie wagen es mir zu drohen? Ich bin ein ranghöherer Offizier und ich… (How dare you threaten me? I am your superior officer and I...)"_

 _"Und ich werde eine Nachricht an Ihren Vorgesetzten übermitteln. Sie wissen, wie er ist, wenn Sie sich Befehlen weigern. (And I am relaying a message from your superior. You know what he's like when you refuse him.)"_

 _The Untersturmführer glared at her, but relented. "Bringen Sie die schwangere Frau her! (Bring the pregnant woman here!)"_

 _Ilse switched into Polish when the woman was brought to her. "Musisz pójść ze mną. Doktor chce z tobą porozmawiać. (You need to come with me. The Doctor wishes to speak with you.)"_

 **Present Day…**

Henry looked up. "Ilse Krause spared your mother?"

"Well, at least it looks like she tried to. We know my mom died there. She was probably killed after I was born."

"That still doesn't answer how you lived."

Abe nodded as he took back the papers. "Yeah, I know. I'm going to keep doing research. Maybe focus on Ilse Krause."

Henry smiled. "A solid plan. I'm off to the morgue. There's a new body for me to autopsy. Enjoy your research."

* * *

Jo came down to the morgue while Henry was closing the victim up. "Hey."

"Detective."

"C.O.D. as expected?"

Henry tied off the last suture. "Yes. The first stab wound perforated the left ventricle of the heart. The second severed her left pulmonary artery and veins. She died within a minute of the initial wound."

"Just like you predicted." Jo glanced at the door as it opened.

"Yes." Henry looked up. "Detective Hanson, you're just in time. I was just telling Jo about our victim."

"She was stabbed and bled out." Hanson stopped by the table.

"That is the short answer, yes." Henry pointed to the bruises on her arms. "She was also attacked several days ago. Someone grabbed her arms with great force. Scratches on the bruises are healing well, which tells me her attack was four or five days ago."

Hanson nodded and headed for the door. "I'll look into it."

Jo watched Henry cover the victim. "So, what did you need to go home for?"

Henry went to the sink to wash his hands. "My tools. I'd taken them home to inspect them properly. Speaking of home, Abe's been doing research all day."

"On a piece he acquired?"

"No, on his parents."

Jo followed Henry to his office. "You guys said he never knew them."

"Yes. His parents died at Auschwitz. According to the records, his mother was sent to the gas chambers because she was pregnant. Abe found an account about a Nazi secretary named Ilse Krause that says she was the one who saved Reba Weinraub and, by extension, Abe."

"Wow."

Henry nodded. "He's trying to see if he can find out more about Ms. Krause."

Hanson opened the door when he returned. "Who's Ms. Krause?"

"A woman who was a secretary at Auschwitz. Abe is trying to find out more about her."

"Why?"

"Abe was born at Auschwitz." Henry stood. "He's trying to find out more about his parents."

Hanson was confused. "Didn't his mom die near Tarrytown?"

"That was the woman who adopted him. He's trying to find out more about his biological parents."

Jo stood too. "What'd you find?"

"Uniforms have been sent to get James Coleburn, the man who assaulted the victim. Hunter Peterson is upstairs for us."

* * *

"Mr. Peterson, I'm Detective Martinez, this is Detective Hanson. Do you know why you're here?" Jo sat and placed a folder on the table.

"Look, if this is about the parking tickets, I set up the payment plan last week."

"No, this isn't about parking tickets. When was the last time you saw your nephew?" She set Gavin's photo on the table.

Peterson picked up the photo. "He was just nine months old when I saw him last. He was so… perfect. I was sent to prison a few days later. When I got out, I petitioned to become his guardian, but my record made me unfit. Why? What happened?"

"Did you know he'd been adopted?"

Peterson nodded. "Yeah. Victoria, uh… Mueller; she was there when I tried to be his guardian. She sent me pictures of him after that. When she sent me this photo, she'd put a note on the back that said a good family wanted to give him a home and siblings. I can't give him that."

Hanson was standing against the wall. "Did you know she was killed this morning?"

Peterson looked up. "What?" He jumped up. "Was Gavin hurt?"

"Mr. Peterson, calm down."

"Where's my nephew?!"

Hanson walked up to Peterson. "Sit! Down!"

Peterson sat down. "Please, just tell me where he is."

"Where were you this morning?"

"With my probation officer, why? Wait… you think I had something to do with this?" He looked between the two detectives. "Why would I kill Victoria? She was my only connection to Gavin."

"Maybe you saw that connection as a way to get your nephew back. She didn't agree with that, so you killed her."

A rage was boiling under the surface of Peterson's face. "I would never hurt my nephew. He was going to be in a good family soon. Victoria was going to make sure I knew what was going on in his life. I was happy for him."

Jo clicked a pen. "Give me your parole officer's name and contact info."

Peterson rattled off the information. "Where's my nephew?"

"He's missing. We think the killer took him. We're doing everything in our power to find him."

Peterson slumped in his chair. "I swear, I had nothing to do with that."

* * *

 **Later...**

They kept Peterson around until they were able to verify that he really had been with his parole officer. Jo hadn't really believed he was involved after his display in the Interrogation Room, but they'd had to check anyway. He was cut loose when his parole officer finally called them back. Jo gave Peterson her card and told him not to leave town as he went out the door.

Henry had his coat over his arm when she was returning to her desk. "I'm heading out. Abe may have found more information and he wants me to take a look."

"Well, have a nice night. I'm going to be here a while longer. James Coleburn is on his way in and I've got to talk to him."

Henry stopped putting his coat on. "Would you like me to stay?"

Jo smiled and sat down. "No, thanks. I've got this."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. Goodnight, Henry."

"Goodnight, Detective. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

Henry locked the door to the shop behind him and headed for the stairs. "Abraham?!"

"Upstairs!"

Henry reached the second floor and stopped. "Your research has grown."

"Oh, sorry. The pizza got here ten minutes ago, so it should still be warm."

Henry opened the box and grabbed a slice. "So, what have you found?"

"I didn't find out more about my mom, but I did find something on Ilse. She was working for the resistance."

Henry swallowed. "I remember hearing about them. They helped smuggle Jews out of German occupied areas. There were several groups."

Abe nodded. "Exactly. Now Ilse…" the doorbell rang, "were you expecting company?"

"No." Henry went downstairs and opened the door. "Anneliese, this is a surprise. Come in."

"I'm sorry for coming over unannounced but I wanted to talk to you about…" she got to the top of the stairs and saw the papers, "is this a bad time?"

Abe smiled. "No, not at all. I've just been trying to find out more about my birth parents." He started to gather papers together. "Let me get this out of your way."

Anneliese noticed the numbers on Abe's arm and gasped. "Incroyable."

Abe looked down at his arm and shrugged. "Oh, that. Yeah, I was just a baby then." He started to roll his sleeves back down.

Anneliese put a gentle hand on his arm. "May I?" She rolled the sleeve back up and looked at the tattoo more closely before smiling at him. "I knew you."

* * *

 **A/N: An Untersturmführer is a rank in the Nazi SS that translates to "Under Storm Leader" and is the equivalent of a 2nd Lieutenant.** **The German and Polish translations in this chapter and the next ones were provided by Google Translate. Please blame it for any and all errors, though the Polish was run by a friend who speaks Polish and she said it was fine. Stay tuned to find out what Anneliese meant.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Note: First off, I totally failed to post this yesterday. I'm so sorry this is a day late. Secondly, I'd like to thank JAG'ed Bones in the Casckett, phnxgrl, KenH, foreverHenry919, superlc529, rberkenpas, SSTrans, and 80 for their reviews. 80:** I have another reader doing the translations now, so there shouldn't be problems going forward. Thanks for the offer though. I'll definitely consider you if they aren't available. **SSTrans, superlc529, and foreverHenry919:** Anneliese's connection to Aberaham will be revealed very soon. **rberkenpas:** Thanks for checking the Dutch in chapters 22 and 23. I'll be sure to run any Dutch sentences by you before I post in the future. **foreverHenry919:** Never be sorry to speculate. I like seeing if people are seeing through my smoke screens or if I managed to actually pull off a red herring. Keep on speculating! I'm also glad (not exactly the right word there) that I was able to portray the conditions in the camp and the Nazis who ran it. Just doing research on it made my skin crawl. It really was an awful period in history, but I won't get into that here; we don't have time for that. **KenH:** You're welcome. I don't speak German or Polish either. I would have loved to hear your thoughts on Anneliese and Abe's connection. One of them might have been right... **This chapter starts right where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 28

Henry walked into Anneliese's line of sight. "You knew Abraham? At Auschwitz?"

"Yes. I worked at the camp. I was a secretary for Dr. Mengele. Back then, my name was Ilse Krause."

Abe turned to Henry. "She's the lady I've been researching!" He turned back to Anneliese. "You knew my mom!"

Anneliese smiled sadly. "Yes, I did. I'm sorry I couldn't save her. But I was there when you were born."

 _ **Auschwitz  
September 20, 1944…**_

" _Pchać! Prawie tam. Pchać! (Push! Almost there. Push!)" Ilse was acting as a midwife for Reba Weinraub while she was in labor. One of the prisoners from Mengele's barracks was helping to keep Reba comfortable and Dr. Mengele was watching from the corner._

" _Ahh!" Reba pushed again and a baby's crying pierced the air a moment later._

" _To chłopiec. (It's a boy.)" Ilse looked up and smiled._

 _Reba reached toward the baby. "Daj mi go zobaczyć. (Let me see him.)"_

 _Ilse tied off and cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby in a blanket. "Oto. Co będzie jego nazwać? (Here. What will you call him?)"_

" _Abraham."_

 _Dr. Mengele stood. "Das sind genügend Informationen. Senden Sie beide in das Krematorium. (That's enough data. Send them both to the Crematorium.)"_

 _Ilse looked at him in surprise. "Was meinen Sie? Das Kind wurde gerade erst geboren. (What do you mean? The baby was just born.)"_

 _Mengele shook his head. "Nein. Der Jude wurde gerade erst geboren. Sie wurden lange genug verschont. Bringen Sie sie weg. (No. A Jew was just born. They have been spared long enough. Take them away.)"_

 _"Doktor Mengele, bitte. Warten Sie! (Doctor Mengele, please. Wait!)"_

 _The doctor walked up to Ilse, stopping centimeters from her face as two officers appeared in the doorway to retrieve the condemned. "Sind Sie Arier oder Jude? (Are you an Aryan or a Jew?)"_

 _Ilse was shaking. "Ich möchte das Kind behalten. Für ein Experiment. (I was wanting to keep the child. For an experiment.)"_

 _Mengele scoffed. "Ich führe hier die Experimente durch. Das Kind benötige ich nicht und Sie haben keinen Medizinabschluss. (I conduct the experiments around here. That child doesn't fit my needs and you don't have a medical degree.)"_

 _Ilse stood her ground. "Für mein Experiment brauche ich keinen. (My experiment doesn't need one.)"_

 _Mengele gave as exasperated sighed. "In Ordnung. Was soll Ihr Experiment sein? (Fine. What was your experiment going to be?)"_

 _"Ich möchte sehen, ob er glauben wird, dass er ein Arier ist, wenn ich ihn so erziehe. Ich möchte wissen, ob seine jüdische Abstammung sein Verhalten mehr beeinflusst als seine Erziehung. (I want to see if he will believe he is an Aryan if I raised him that way. I want to see if his birth as a Jew influences how he acts more than his upbringing does.)"_

 _Mengele turned to look at her. "Veranlagung oder Erziehung. In Ordnung. Er gehört Ihnen. Bringen Sie die Mutter weg. (Nature or nurture. Fine. He is yours. Take her away.)"_

 _Mengele turned and walked out of the room, stopping only to send the SS officers in with a brief word of instruction. Isle turned to speak to Reba and explain what was happening, but she didn't get the chance. The baby was ripped from Reba's arms and careless shoved into Ilse's by the higher ranking officer. Reba was pulled up without being allowed to dress and dragged away._

 _Reba was terrified. "Nie! Moje dziecko!_ _Nie zabrać moje dziecko! (No!_ _My baby! Don't take away my baby!)"_

 _Ilse clutched the baby to her chest. "On będzie ze mną bezpieczna! Przykro mi nie może cię ocalić! (He will be safe with me! I'm sorry I couldn't save you!)" Ilse's words, in Polish so Reba would understand, seemed to calm her. "Wybacz mi. (Forgive me.)"_

 **Present Day…**

Abe had tears in his eyes as Anneliese finished the story. "My name was always Abraham."

"Yes. The SS wouldn't let me call you that though. I had to pick a German name, but when I was alone with you, I would still call you Abraham."

"So, my mom was killed right after I was born?"

Anneliese nodded. "Yes. I was trying to think of a reason to save her life, but nothing came to mind. All I could do was save you and beg her forgiveness."

"Well, I forgive you."

"Thank you." Anneliese became choked up. "Thank you."

Abe held open his arms. "Come here, Mom."

Anneliese smiled and stepped into his embrace. "My son."

Abe smiled. "So, what was my German name? And why is my tattoo on my right arm? In my research, Auschwitz tattooed the left arm on adults and used the thigh for babies."

"Your German name was Ansell Krause. And your right arm was tattooed to distinguish you from all the others at the camp. I tried to prevent it on the basis that it would interfere with my 'experiment,' but they didn't care. I was tattooed too, but the next time I died, the tattoo disappeared."

Henry had been quiet for a long time. "Why would they tattoo you too?"

Anneliese turned to the M.E. "To not tamper with my experiment, of course. My number was the same as Abe's, but the triangle under the number had an 'M' in it to say that I was the mother. I was to explain that our number was our family number."

"Wow, this is incredible. I can't believe I finally got to know how I'm alive. So how did I end up with Henry and Abigail?"

Anneliese's phone chirped. "That will have to be a story for another time. One of my planners hasn't arrived at their event yet. I have to take care of this."

Henry stood. "I'll walk you out." He led the way into the shop. "This has been incredible for Abe. He will be pestering you with questions for some time."

"I can handle that." She smiled. "Besides, I'm just glad he ended up in a good home. Thank you for taking him in when I couldn't."

"Thank you for saving his life." Henry unlocked the door. "Did you try to find him after the war?"

"Yes. By the time I'd tracked down where he'd been taken, he had already been adopted."

Henry opened the door and then stopped. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"It's not that important. Not right away, at least." She looked at him and sighed whenshe saw he wasn't going to let her off that easily. "I think someone is following me, but I could be wrong. I'll let you know more when I know it. Au revoir, Henri."

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Jo sat down across from James Coleburn. "So, Mr. Coleburn, what can you tell me about Victoria Mueller?"

"Who?"

Jo put down the victim's DMV photo. "This woman. You assaulted her four days ago."

"Oh, her. I didn't know her. I was drunk when I hurt her. I thought she was my ex. Why? Did she decide not to drop the charges?"

"She's dropping the assault charges?"

Coleburn nodded. "Yeah. I apologized and explained what was going on. I was looking for a plea deal, but she was going to drop the charges."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "She never gave me her reason."

Jo wrote herself a note to look into it. "Where were you around 10:30 this morning?"

"At work. I'm a dockworker. Shift started at five, ended at 1. Look, whatever you think I did, I didn't do it."

Jo leaned back in her chair. "Can anyone verify that?"

"Everyone I work with."

There was a light knock on the window. "Stay put."

Hanson was in the observation room. "He's on his work's security footage at the time of the murder. I'm on hold to talk to the D.A.'s office about the assault."

"Let me know if we're cutting him loose."

Hanson nodded. "Yes, this is Detective Hanson. She was? Did she give a reason? Really? Okay, thank you for your time." He hung up. "The vic was dropping the charges. Said she believes in second chances."

"Alright." Jo walked back into the interrogation room. "It looks like your alibi checks out. You're free to go, but don't leave town."

* * *

Henry found Jo waiting for him in his office when he arrived the next morning. "Good morning, Detective."

"Morning. I hope your evening was better than mine."

Henry removed his coat. "No suspect, I take it."

"No. Both men alibied out." Jo finished off her coffee. "How's Abe's research going?"

"Very well. He found Ilse Krause."

"She's still alive?"

Henry grinned. "Very. She looks very good for her age too."

"I'm confused."

"Ilse Krause is an alias for Anneliese de Lyon."

"Shut the front door." Jo grinned. "She was the secretary at Auschwitz?" Her grin fell. "She was a Nazi."

"Not exactly. She worked at Auschwitz as a secretary, yes, but she was helping Jews to escape. If it hadn't been for her, Abe would have been killed before he had been born."

"That's amazing."

"Yes. I don't think you came down here for that, though." Henry sat down.

"No, I didn't. I'm out of suspects, so I was hoping you might have something new."

"Not at the moment, but I can take another look."

"Thanks." Jo stood up. "Hey, speaking of Anneliese, I should let you know that Hanson's looking into her recovery. You should let her know."

"Thank you, Jo. I will." Henry waited for Jo to leave before picking up the phone.

Anneliese answered after two rings. " _Alexis Deverodova_."

"You're good at that, aren't you?"

" _Henry! I didn't expect to talk to you so soon. More questions?_ "

"Not at the moment. I'm calling to warn you that Detective Hanson is suspicious of your recovery. He's looking into it."

Anneliese laughed. " _I know. Evanna called this morning._ "

"The friend you were planning the party for?"

" _Yes. Her day job is as a physical therapist. I had her 'rehabilitate' me after a month of 'bed rest.' Don't worry, when he calls me, I know what to say._ "

"You don't think he might be suspicious of your answers?"

" _I can be very persuasive when I need to be._ " Anneliese covered the mouthpiece for a moment. " _I have to go. I'll talk to you later, Henry._ "

"Wait. Is Adam… Pierre… following you?"

Anneliese was quiet for a while. " _How did you know?_ "

"He called a few months ago and thought he'd seen someone he knew 300 years ago. When you mentioned someone following you… I realized it might be him."

" _So he has seen_ _me_." She sighed and cursed in French. _"I have to get back to work. Thanks for the heads up._ "

"Goodbye." Henry hung up and went to the door of his office. "Lucas, get Ms. Mueller's body prepped, please."

"Jo told me on her way out. Ms. Mueller is ready for you."

"Thank you." Henry quickly got his tools and lab coat before heading to the victim's side. "Jo wants to know if the killer left a clue on the body that we missed."

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure." Henry began to meticulously examine the victim's body, starting from her head. When he reached the stab wounds, he stopped. Something wasn't right. Normally a stab wound, like these, went deep enough to leave a bruise around the entry point. These stab wounds didn't have those bruises. "Lucas, get me the depth gauge."

"Yeah." He handed Henry the tool.

Henry inserted the tool and collected the measurement. "We've been looking at this all wrong. We're assuming a man killed her, but this proves the killer is actually a woman."

"Because the wound tracks are so shallow?"

Henry looked excited. "Exactly. Deep enough to be fatal, but not enough to leave a bruise. I need to tell Jo."

* * *

 **A/N: So, a lot of you were right. Anneliese is Ilse. Initially I wasn't planning on revealing that Anneliese and Ilse were the same person until later in the case, but when I was writing it, this is where it fit best. Also, the German is being translated by a reader now, so it should be correct. If you think there are still errors, you can send me a PM with your questions/concerns/translations and I'll take a look.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, foreverHenry919, superlc529, and SSTrans for their reviews. SSTrans:** Sorry, I thought I'd been clear when they ran into Anneliese at the orphanage that Hanson felt she had recovered a bit too quickly. That's what he's looking into. **superlc529:** Wound tracks tend to be shallower with female assailants simply from a strength issue. And it's not that the wound is "shallow." A shallower wound tract is a stab wound where the blade of the knife completely or almost completely enters the body, but the skin and muscles beneath don't compress and create a bruise where the knife's hilt presses into the skin. This is a common thing used in TV shows, at least. And the murder weapon was the knife that was left in the victim. **foreverHennry919:** Glad you're enjoying the story. Auschwitz is not an easy place to write about, though the performance Gabriel Furman gave as Mengele on the show helps when I'm writing for that character. **KenH:** I actually haven't written a confrontation moment for Anneliese and Adam yet, though I have a couple ideas. Not sure which I'll end up going with, but stay tuned. **As before, t** **his chapter starts right where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 29

"Jo, I have some more information."

Jo seemed to be in a hurry. "Okay, shoot."

"The wound tracks are shallower than the length of the knife. The hilt wasn't pressed into the skin the way an attack like this usually goes. That means the killer is likely a woman."

"Yeah, I was leaning that way. The Amber Alert for Gavin got a hit. He was spotted with a woman at a gas station off the I-81 in Adams Center, upstate. " Jo grabbed her keys and holstered her gun. "We're headed there. Coming?"

"I would love to."

Jo raced all the way up there with Hanson in the car behind hers and Henry in her passenger seat. A couple times, she would glance in Henry's direction and the image on him pinned to his seat with a scaffolding pole would cross her mind's eye. It had been several months since Henry had told her about his immortality and then been killed in front of her. She'd felt she was over her fear of losing him now that she knew, but it was still scary for her to think of witnessing him dying again.

Henry seemed to have noticed. "What's on your mind?"

Jo sighed. "I'm still… affected by your… death all those months ago. I thought I was okay, but for some reason… this trip is bringing all that back."

"I'm not going to die today."

"I know that."

Henry turned in his seat. "What you saw, the way I died; it was traumatic for you. It would be natural to…"

"Have PTSD?" Jo glanced at Henry again. "I know I have it, but I can't talk to anyone about it. Anyone I could talk to would think I'm crazy."

"So talk to me. I may not have a psychology degree, but I am familiar with tragic and traumatic deaths. At the very least, it should help."

Jo thought that over. "Okay."

Some time later, they arrived at the gas station where the command center had been set up. The detectives checked in with the commander and they exchanged information about the case. Henry wandered around the gas station to look around. The woman's car had been at pump seven and Henry found the snack Gavin had been clutching there.

The Commander was speaking when Henry approached. "Truth be told, we're not even sure if the boy is Gavin."

"The boy is Gavin." Henry held up the fruit snacks with a gloved hand. "The orphanage stamps the snacks apparently. My guess is there have been thefts recently."

Jo turned back to the Commander. "Where were they headed?"

"North. From here, there's really only one road to Canada. Border Patrol and Canadian Authorities have been updated, and we've got a couple road blocks set up. One is twenty miles from the border and the other is two miles from the border."

"Next town?"

"About eleven miles up the road. After that, it's a straight shot to the border."

"How long ago did they pass through here?"

The Commander held up a hand. "Look, the road blocks went up when the Amber Alert came out. They haven't been through either one yet, so they're probably holing up in Watertown."

"Let's go, then."

* * *

 _ **Auschwitz  
**_ _ **January 15, 1945…**_

 _Ilse Krause picked the baby up out of his crib. "Guten Morgen. Wie hast du letzte Nacht geschlafen? Scheinbar gut, denn du hast mich nur zweimal geweckt. (Good morning. How did you sleep last night? It must have been good because you only woke me up twice.)" He was getting big now that he was three months old._

 _She changed his diaper and fed him before she even thought about getting herself ready for her day. Now that she was running an "experiment," Mengele had relieved her of most of her normal duties. She still made sure to make the time to put in the fake external work orders to try and help some of the Jews escape. Not as many had made it out as she had hoped when she'd taken this post. The Nazi's were watching a little too closely._

 _Ilse looked around the room. "Was wollen wir heute machen, Abraham? (What should we do today, Abraham?)" Officially his name was Ansell Krause, but whenever they were alone, she would use the name his mother had given him._ _She could be imagining it, but whenever she said Abraham, she always thought he smiled. "Du hast Recht. Wir sollten warm bleiben und jemanden zum Lächeln bringen. Selbst wenn es einer der miesen Nazis ist. (You're right. We should stay warm and help someone smile. Even if it is one of the rotten Nazis.)"_

 _Screams echoed across the yard. Either Mengele was up early with his secret "patient" or someone had tried to escape. The trains hadn't come for weeks and they wouldn't have arrived this early anyway. The way the screams sounded, it was probably Mengele. Ilse kept her hands over Abraham's ears. No need for him to listen to the horrors here, even if he was far too young to understand._

 _Ilse sighed when the screams stopped. "Es heißt, die Russen kommen. Ich hoffe, sie beeilen sich. Dann können wir hier rauskommen. Ich werde dir Polnisch beibringen und von deiner Mutter erzählen. Ich habe deinen Vater nie getroffen, aber ich habe herausgefunden, dass er Herman Weinraub hieß und deine Mutter Reba. (They say the Russians are coming. I hope they'd hurry. Then we could get out of here. I'll teach you Polish, and tell you about your mother. I never met your father, but I did find out that his name was Herman Weinraub and your mother's name was Reba.)"_

 _She stopped talking as the doors to her room burst open. "Packen Sie Ihre Sachen. Wir gehen. (Pack your things. We are leaving.)" The officer looked at the baby. "Geben Sie mir das Kind. (Give him to me.)"_

 _"Nein! Ich habe die Zustimmung des Führers dieses Experiment durchzuführen. Sie können es nicht unterbrechen! (No! I have the Fuhrer's approval to conduct this experiment. You can't interrupt it!)"_

 _The Oberschütze was outraged. "Der Führer hat alle Experimente abgebrochen. Sie geben ihn mir, jetzt! (The Fuhrer has cancelled all experiments. You are to give him to me, now!)"_

 _"Hat Mengele das genehmigt? (Has Mengele approved this?)" Ilse was searching for a way to save her son's life. She had risked too much protecting him to have Abraham die now._

 _Mengele, still wearing his bloody apron, walked in. "Ja, habe ich. Händigen Sie ihn aus. (Yes, I have. Turn him over.)"_

 _Ilse was silent for a long time. "Nein. Ich werde es selber tun. So wird er nicht leiden. (No. I will do it myself. That way he won't suffer.)"_

 _Mengele looked at Ilse for a long moment. "Er ist Ihnen ans Herz gewachsen. (You've grown attached.)"_

 _"Natürlich ist er das. Ich soll ihn als meinen Sohn großziehen. Bindung ist ein zwingendes Beiwerk. (Of course I have. I'm supposed to raise him as my son. Attachment comes with the territory.)" She grabbed a brown, stripped blanket and wrapped Abraham in it. "Erlauben Sie mir, dafür das Lager zu verlassen? (Permission to leave the camp to do this?)"_

 _"Erlaubnis erteilt. Aber Sie werden diesen Mann mitnehmen. (Granted. But you will take this man with you.)" Mengele gestured to the Senior Rifleman._

 _Ilse nodded. "Ich muss mir etwas Wärmeres anziehen. Würden Sie beide bitte gehen? (I need to change into something warmer. Will you both leave, please?)"_

 _The officer looked at Mengele. "Ich werde draußen warten. (I will wait outside.)"_

 _Mengele nodded and both men walked out. Ilse unwrapped Abraham and changed him into warmer clothes. She then changed her own clothes and packed some things her son would need into a satchel that she would hide under her overcoat. She had managed to steal a gun from one of the officers several months ago and she hung it from the front of her overcoat's belt. A knife had come to the camp with her and that was also hanging from her belt where it would be seen._

 _She re-wrapped Abraham in his blanket and put on the overcoat, holding her son in front of her to hide the gun. "Lass uns gehen, Abraham. Ich werde nicht zulassen, dass sie dir etwas antun. Ich verspreche es. Ich werde dich zu den Amerikanern bringen. (Let's go, Abraham. I'm not going to let them hurt you. I promise. I'm going to get you to the Americans.)"_

* * *

 **Present day...**

Hanson walked up to one of the cars in the motel parking lot when they arrived. "I know that plate number. When I ran Hunter Peterson's name, a car registration with this plate number popped up."

"He lied to us." Jo headed for the manager's office. "Excuse me, sir, NYPD." She flashed her badge and then held up her phone. "Have you seen this man?"

The manager grabbed his glasses and took a look. "No, I can't say I have."

"What about this boy?"

"Him I've seen. Cutest little tyke. Wasn't too happy with his mama for some reason."

Jo glanced at Henry. "Which room is theirs?"

"Hold on, let me check." The manager grabbed the log book. "So what's this about anyway?"

Hanson was trying to read the book upside down through the window. "That woman wasn't his 'mama.' The boy was kidnapped. Didn't you see the Amber Alert?"

"Nope. I don't have a computer and the television is broken." His finger trailed agonizingly slowly down the page. "Ah. Here she is. Rebecca Hadley. Room 116."

Hanson walked away to check the name, so Jo took over. "What time did they check-in?"

"Late last night. I was just about to leave for the night."

"Have they left their room?"

The manager shook his head. "Not that I've seen."

Hanson came back over. "Hadley lives at the same address that Peterson does. What are the odds that they are in this together?"

Henry was following the detectives. "I would say very good."

"That's what I said. I have uniforms headed to their place. Maybe they'll dig up something."

Local officers in the parking lot quickly positioned themselves around the hotel room. Jo and Hanson quickly briefed them on who the suspects were and what they might expect to find inside. A few uniforms were selected to breach the door. Jo and Hanson were with that group and Henry was to wait behind the other officers. One uniform was getting ready to swing the ram into the door when the sounds of a yelling match echoed through the door. Jo tapped on her ear to suggest they listen and the uniform lowered the ram.

" _No, Becks, this is wrong!_ "

" _He's your nephew, Hunt! You should be happy I got him for you!_ "

Peterson, it seemed, was not involved in the murder and kidnapping after all. " _He has a new family! I tried to get custody of Gavin, but I've never been cut out to raise a kid! The courts knew it, I know it. We have to take him back!_ "

" _After what I did to get him for you? Are you crazy? We need to get out of here; we need to get to Canada!_ "

" _I can't be a part of this, Becks. I'm already an ex-con. If I do this and we get caught, I'll go to jail for a long time. I'm not going to prison for you!_ "

" _Then get out! Go! Get your ass out of here!_ " Hadley was screaming at the top of her lungs.

" _If I do that, what happens to Gavin, hunh? What will you do then?_ "

" _I don't know yet. All I know is that I'm done with you_."

" _Rebecca, please! Let me take him back home_."

" _I can't let you do that. Either you're with me, or you can get out. Make a choice, Hunter_."

" _Just… promise me you won't hurt him_."

The woman sighed. " _I won't hurt him_."

For a minute, all they could hear was an indistinct mumbling. Jo thought she heard a young voice begging and then Hunter's deeper voice was saying something again. _He's saying goodbye to Gavin._ There were a few more terse words between Hadley and Peterson and then the door opened. The uniforms had already backed up a step so Hadley wouldn't see them. It seemed that Peterson wasn't paying attention to his surroundings as he closed the door.

Which suited Hanson just fine. He grabbed Peterson and pulled him away from the door quickly. "You lied to us, Hunter."

Peterson kept his voice low. "No, I didn't. I had no idea Becks was the one."

"How'd you find out?"

"Early this morning. Becks called and told me where she was. She said we needed to talk and to get here as quickly as I could. She told me what happened when I got here." Peterson looked at Jo. "I was trying to get her to turn herself in. Before you guys grabbed me, I was going to call you."

"Turn around." Hanson pulled out a pair of cuffs. "You're under arrest till we can sort this out."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Peterson complied and put his hands behind his back. "Get him out safely, please."

Jo nodded. "That's the plan."

Peterson was led away and everyone turned back to the room. "Let's get that kid outta there."

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, KenH, foreverHenry919, superlc529, and SSTrans for their reviews. I would also like to send out a very special thank you to norien for helping me out with the German translations for the past few chapters. If there are any readers out there who are willing to translate conversation lines into any language, send me a private message with the language in the subject line. There are no guarantees that I will use that language soon, but I would like to know who I can contact for help (Google translate is not always a very good resource).**

 **SSTrans:** I'm glad you liked their conversation. I'd felt Jo really hadn't really voiced all of her feelings about Henry's "condition", so this seemed like a good opportunity to do so. **superlc529:** They know where he is, but they haven't actually seen Gavin yet. As for the conclusion to the flashback, keep reading to find out. And don't read too fast; you wouldn't want to miss anything :). **foreverHenry919:** You're welcome. **KenH:** Gavin's uncle is trying to change his life around after serving time. He really does just want the best for Gavin. Yes, answers are on their way. I like that you think Anneliese is so brave. That's what I was trying to show, so I'm glad you saw it. **This chapter starts where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 30

"Rebecca Hadley! NYPD! Open up!"

" _No!_ " She sounded panicked. " _Leave me alone!_ "

Hanson was about to yell back, but Jo waved him off so she could talk to her instead. "Rebecca, my name is Jo. Listen, we know you were trying to make sure Hunter got to raise his nephew..."

" _Yeah, and he didn't want to! He thinks some strangers will do a better job!_ "

"Rebecca, he doesn't want to hurt Gavin." Jo moved closer to the door. "Hunter doesn't want Gavin to be sent to foster care if he goes to jail again. He wants Gavin to have parents and siblings. Hunter wants his nephew to have a stable home."

" _We could've given that to him! Hunter and I could've done all that!_ "

Gavin's little voice called through the door. " _I want Vicky! Where's Vicky?_ "

"Vicky's gone!" Hadley was yelling at Gavin now. " _She was keeping you from your family, so I took care of the problem!_ "

Gavin was crying now. " _I want Vicky!_ "

" _Shut up!_ "

Jo heard a slap. "We need to get in there."

"Rebecca Hadley! We're coming in!"

The uniform with the ram slammed it into the door next to the lock. The door burst open and the officers poured in the room. Hadley screamed and threw herself to the floor. Officers swarmed her and handcuffed her, but Jo was looking for Gavin. When she got the far side of the bed, she found him cowering into the corner between the bed and nightstand. His arms were covering his head and he was sobbing.

"Hey, sweetheart. It's over. Can you look at me?" Jo knelt down to his level and held out her hands.

He slowly uncovered his head, revealing an angry red mark on his cheek. "Who are you?"

"My name is Jo. I'm a police officer. A detective, actually."

Gavin looked at the badge on Jo's belt "Can I see?"

"Sure." Jo unclipped her badge from her belt and handed it to him. "Here you go."

Gavin took it. "Is Vicky really gone?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

Henry came into the room. "Jo?"

"Down here." Jo turned back to Gavin. "This is my friend, Henry. He's a doctor."

"Hello, Gavin. Are you all right?"

"You talk funny."

Henry smiled. "Yes, I suppose I do. Can you guess where I'm from?"

Gavin shook his head. "No."

Henry squatted so he was at Gavin's height. "I am from England. London, specifically. It's a large city, like New York. That's where I grew up."

"Do people there talk like you?"

"Some do." Henry sat on the floor. "Some speak a little differently. London is a very diverse city. There are lots of different people there."

Gavin nodded and was quiet for a while, looking at Jo's badge. "I want to be a police someday."

Jo smiled. "You do? I think you'd make a good one. It's a lot of hard work, you know. Think you could do that?"

He nodded. "Are you going to take me home?"

"Yes, we'll take you home. Come on." Jo stood and held out her hand. Gavin took it and they walked out of the hotel room.

Hunter was sitting against a patrol car, looking toward the hotel. "Gavin!"

Gavin looked up at Jo. "He's my uncle?"

"Yes."

"Is he in trouble?"

Jo looked down at Gavin. "That's what I have to figure out."

"He- He wanted to take me away from the mean lady. He said I have a new home. That I should be there. Is that true?"

Jo stopped and knelt down again. "Do you remember where Vicky was taking you yesterday?"

"To my new family. The mommy seems nice."

"You have a new family, yes. Your uncle was trying to take you to them?"

Gavin nodded. "Before him and the mean lady started yelling. Is he still in trouble?"

"Until we can prove he's not, we have to keep him with us. But I don't think he did anything wrong. Do you want to say hi?"

Gavin nodded. Jo said okay and led the boy over to Hunter. Peterson's hands were still handcuffed, but the two were still able to have a few moments to finally meet each other. Gavin even gave his uncle a hug before Hunter was put in the back of Hanson's car. Gavin was led over to Jo's car and she buckled him in. Henry watched with a soft grin on his face. She would make a good mother someday.

Jo noticed when she straightened up. "What?"

"You are very good to him. You'll make a great mother someday."

She struggled to hide a smile. "Thanks."

* * *

Rebecca Hadley was booked after being interrogated. She confessed to the whole thing and admitted that Hunter Peterson had nothing to do with the murder and subsequent kidnapping. She said she'd decided to kidnap Gavin when Hunter had come home disappointed that his nephew wasn't going to be entrusted into his care. She'd felt it wasn't fair that Gavin wouldn't be allowed to live with his family. Hunter was released from custody a couple hours later. His parole was lengthened and he would have to do community service for violating parole, but because his intentions were to return his kidnapped nephew, he wouldn't receive any jail time.

While the detectives waited for Child Services to arrive so Gavin could be interviewed, the little boy had been allowed to spend some more time with the uncle he barely knew. Jo sat in with them to make sure that their conversation never strayed to the events of the last couple days. It would have made figuring out what to do with Hunter all the more difficult. Child Services finally arrived and sat in with Gavin while the detectives asked him all the questions they needed to so that he could go to his new family and the case could be wrapped up.

Jo clipped her badge back on her hip. "I am so glad we got him back. Do you think he'll be okay?"

Henry pushed the button for the elevator. "He is young, so he might. Not right away, of course. Eventually though, yes, he should heal. His new parents will have to help him a lot if he is to do so."

Jo boarded the elevator with Henry. "How's Abe's 'research' coming along?"

"I haven't asked him today, so I'm not sure. Would you like to come over and find out?"

"I would love to."

* * *

 _ **Forest near Auschwitz  
**_ _ **January 15, 1945…**_

 _Ilse walked deep into the forest with the officer at her back. The sounds of the camp had faded, though intermittent screams still echoed through the trees. Ilse couldn't tell if the screams were from Mengele's experiments or something else, but it didn't matter. If she could still hear and smell the camp, they were too close. Behind her, the senior rifleman stopped and then made some uncomfortable movements and sounds before resuming his march behind her._

 _After several more minutes, he stopped again. "Das ist weit genug weg. (This is far enough.)"_

 _Ilse shook her head. "Nein, ich kann das Lager immer noch riechen. Ich möchte nicht, dass der Geruch von Tod das letzte ist, was er riecht. (No, I can still smell the camp. I don't want the smell of death to be the last thing he smells.)"_

 _"Ich kann nichts riechen. (I can't smell anything.)"_

 _Ilse didn't respond; she just kept walking. After a moment, the officer started walking again. Half an hour later, she could no longer smell the camps. She took a deep breath and blew it out with a sigh. She had spent too much time at Auschwitz. It was bliss to smell fresh air again. She came to a stop and turned in the snow. This spot was beautiful. She almost regretted that a life would end here and stain the beauty._

 _The officer lowered his rifle. "Können wir ihn jetzt töten? Es ist sehr kalt hier draußen. (Can we kill him now? It is very cold out here.)"_

 _Ilse nodded. "Ja. (Yes.)" She pulled out her knife and held it over Abraham, but then hesitated._

 _Eventually, the Oberschütze walked over to her. "Möchten Sie, dass ich es tue? (Would you like me to do it?)" Earlier, his voice had been hard and harsh, but now it was kind and gentle._

 _"Es tut mir furchtbar leid. (I'm so sorry.)"_

 _"Was tut Ihnen leid? (What are you sorry for?)"_

 _"Das hier. (This.)" Isle plunged the knife into the Senior Rifleman's neck. "Sie haben nicht nach dem Tod gefragt, aber ich werde diesen Jungen nicht töten. (You didn't ask for death, but I won't kill this boy.)"_

 _She pulled out the knife and he collapsed in the snow, his eyes wide in shock, not believing the betrayal. How could she have done something like this? Ilse stepped back so his blood wouldn't get on her or Abraham. The officer barely made a noise as he died alone in the snow. His blood stained the snow red, a gruesome blot in a snowy paradise. Ilse hugged Abraham closer to herself for comfort as she watched the man die._

 _"Domine Jesu Christe, Redemptor et Salvator, dimitte peccata mea, sicut et tu dimisisti Petri negationem qui crucifixerunt. Ne reputes mihi praevaricationibus suis sed potius lacrymis poenitentiae. Ne recorderis peccata mea, sed potissimum ob delicta dolor peccavi tibi. Cupio verum eloquium tuum, et ora pro me, et venio ad te in loco habitaculi tui in sinu meo. Promitto tibi laus et gloria in dilectione sua et in ministerium cunctis diebus vitae meae. (O Lord, Jesus Christ, Redeemer and Savior, forgive my sins, just as You forgave Peter's denial and those who crucified You. Count not my transgressions, but, rather, my tears of repentance. Remember not my iniquities, but, more especially, my sorrow for the offenses I have committed against You. I long to be true to Your Word, and pray that You will love me and come to make Your dwelling place within me. I promise to give You praise and glory in love and in service all the days of my life.)" Ilse knelt and closed the officer's eyes. "Requiem æternam dona ei Domine; et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen. (Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.)"_

 _"Du schaffst es immer wieder mich zu überraschen. (You never fail to surprise me, Ilse.)" A man in a thick wool coat stepped out of the shadow of the trees._

 _"Ich dachte mir schon, du würdest vielleicht zuschauen, Mauritz. (I figured you might be watching, Mauritz.)" Ilse stood and turned to face the man._

 _"Du solltest das Messer reinigen. Lass mich den Jungen halten. (You should clean that knife. Let me hold the boy.)"_

 _Ilse handed her son to the man. "Sein Name ist Abraham. (His name is Abraham.)"_

 _"Die Totenköpfe haben dir das erlaubt? (The skulls allowed you call him that?)"_

 _Ilse wiped the knife on the officer's uniform. "Natürlich nicht. Aber so hat ihn seine Mutter genannt, bevor sie getötet wurde. (Of course not. But that is what his mother named him before she was killed.)"_

 _"Ein guter Name. (A good name.)" Maurtiz cradled Abraham in his arms. "Also bist du jetzt damit fertig Leuten zu helfen aus Auschwitz zu fliehen? (So you're done helping people escape Auschwitz?)"_

 _She sheathed her knife. "Ich hatte keine Wahl. Sie wollten den Jungen töten. Davon abgesehen macht das Lager ist bereit zu marschieren. Wir werden mehr Leute retten können, während sie unterwegs sind. (I had no choice. They were going to kill that boy. Besides, the camp is preparing to march. We'll be able to save more people while they're on the move.)"_

 _"Unsere Organisation kann das. Wir bringen den Jungen von hier weg. (Our organization can. We are getting this boy away from here.)"_

 _Ilse took Abraham back. "Du hast recht. Wir sollten verschwinden. Wo ist dein Auto? (You're right. We should leave. Where is your car?)_

 _"Hier entlang. (This way.)"_

 _Ilse followed Mauritz to his car and they set out on their trek. Luckily, Maurtiz knew all the back roads in the area. It took longer to go as far as the main roads would, but fewer checkpoints were placed on these roads. Five days after leaving Auschwitz, they reached a checkpoint that was run by soldiers in different uniforms. Mauritz pulled the car to the side of the road and took out the binoculars to see who they were._

 _He lowered the binoculars. "Amerikaner. Sie sind jetzt sehr argwöhnisch gegenüber Deutschen. (Americans. They are very suspicious of Germans right now.)"_

 _"Dann ist es gut, dass ich Französisch sprechen kann. (Then it's a good thing I can speak French.)" Ilse dug through her bag and pulled out some French papers._

 _"Wo hast du die bekommen? (Where did you get those?)"_

 _"Ich habe sie, bevor ich Auschwitz verlassen habe, vor dem Feuer gerettet. Ich bin jetzt Cateline Gagnon. Ich muss nur den Kontrollpunkt überwinden, dann werden Abraham und ich sicher sein. (I saved them from being burned a couple days before I left Auschwitz. I am Cateline Gagnon today. I just need to get past the checkpoint; then Abraham and I will be safe.)"_

 _"Ich werde in Deutschland bleiben. Wir sollten einander wieder finden, nachdem der Krieg zu Ende ist. (I'll stay in Germany. We should find each other again after the war ends.)" Maurtiz smiled. "Einen Monat, nachdem Hitler kapituliert, triff mich in Paris. Ich werde unter dem Eiffelturm auf dich warten. (One month after Hitler surrenders, find me in Paris. I'll wait under the Eiffel Tower for you.)"_

 _Ilse opened the door. "Ich freue mich schon darauf. Auf Wiedersehen. (I look forward to it. Goodbye.)"_

 _"Auf Wiedersehen, Ilse. (Goodbye, Ilse.)"_

 _Ilse got out and approached the checkpoint on foot. The soldiers had needed to find a translator because she never stopped speaking in French. Not long after the translator arrived, Ilse and Abraham were through the checkpoint. She didn't have any connections on this side of the checkpoint, so she set out to find someone to entrust Abraham with. It turned out that the checkpoint wasn't far from a military encampment and makeshift hospital._

 _Ilse approached a young blonde woman in a nurse's uniform. "Excuse me, are you a nurse?"_

 _The blonde nurse nodded. "I am. How can I help you? Are you hurt?"_

 _"I am unharmed. I rescued this little boy not far from Auschwitz. It has taken a long time to get him to safety. Will you be able to take care of him?"_

 _"Of course. Did you know his name?" The nurse held out her arms._

 _Ilse gave the little boy to the woman. "I was told it was Abraham."_

 **Present day…**

Everyone was quiet when Anneliese finished her tale. Henry finally looked up. "You were the woman who gave Abraham to Abigail."

Anneliese smiled in recognition. "I thought your wife looked familiar. I just couldn't place where I'd seen her before."

"Was it necessary to kill that man?" The cop in Jo could never quite shut up sometimes.

Anneliese nodded. "I never think of taking a life lightly, and he was actually being very sweet right at the end. But if I hadn't killed him, he would have killed Abraham."

Abe cleared his throat. "Well, I'm grateful." He paused for a moment. "Hey, whatever happened to Mauritz? Did you meet up with him in Paris?"

"No, he never showed. I found out a few years later that he'd been killed trying to free people from the Death Marches."

"That's a shame." Abe stood up. "This has given me a lot to think about. I think I'm going to head to bed and sleep on it. Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight, Abraham." Anneliese smiled and stood. "I should go too." She started to leave and then turned back. "I'm glad you were able to find Gavin."

Jo sighed. "Us too. He's a little shaken, but he should be okay. Goodnight, Anneliese."

* * *

 **A/N: That's it for this case. As I said before, the flashbacks in the past few chapters were longer because of all the information that I needed to convey to get the full story in. That will not be the norm going forward, but there may be a few long flashbacks in the future. As a point of interest, when Mauritz says skulls, he is referring to the Nazis. SS officers in the Nazi armed forces had skulls on their uniforms, which is what he was talking about. The next case is almost ready to go. I'll take a week or two off and proofread that and then I will start posting it. Stay tuned!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Note: I meant to post this last week, but some stuff came up and I couldn't get it up on time. I'm so sorry about that.** **I'd like to thank superlc529, foreverHenry919, phnxgrl, SSTrans, and KenH for their reviews. foreverHenry919:** Thank you. It really was a horrible time in history. **superlc529:** I think there are different tones that can be applied to a word that allows it to mean something different. That is a downfall to writing; you can't always convey the tone someone used. The "mom" that Abe uses isn't the same that he would give to Abigail or Reba. It's like he's accepting that Anneliese was a major part of how he is alive/survived long enough to reach Henry and Abigail. Also, it has been a couple days from when he first heard that she had a hand in saving his life. I think there would have been some time for him to accept the idea. But I totally understand where you're coming from. Don't worry; he doesn't call her "mom" often. **It has been a month since the last case. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 31

Abraham walked into the living room and spread his arms wide. "What do you think?"

Henry smiled. "Very nice. Fawn will be impressed."

Abraham smiled too. "Thanks, Pops. Who'd a thought I'd be this nervous before a date?"

"You'll be fine, Abraham."

"So, who's your Valentine this year?"

Henry settled into his armchair. "Oh, probably a bottle of '83 Chateau La Tour like last year."

"Henry, come on. You can't sit and sulk about mom not being here. You need to get back out there. You need to find someone. I'm not going to be around forever, you know."

"Yes, I know. I just..." Henry looked out the window. "It's been almost a year since we found out what happened to her. I'm not sure I'm ready to get back out there just yet."

"I hear you. Just... well, it's been 30 years since she... you know. All I'm asking is that you'll think about it, okay?"

Henry smiled at his son. "I will."

"Okay." Abraham grabbed a long, wool coat. "I'm off. Don't wait up for me."

"Have fun, Abraham." The phone rang. "And it looks like I might be headed to work." He picked up the receiver. "Hello? Yes. Yes, I know where that is. I'll be there shortly."

* * *

The flash of the camera lit up the scene is Henry walked into a suite at the Muse Hotel. Rose petals were scattered on the floor, candles were lit on the coffee table, and an open heart-shaped box of chocolates had been dropped on the floor. Henry noticed several papers on the coffee table near the lid of the box. Someone had been enjoying the treat before the evening was interrupted by murder.

Henry moved into the bedroom of the suite. The victim was on the bed, a champagne flute knocked over on the night stand nearby. She was in her early thirties, her hair was bottle blonde and well cared for, and the ring on her left hand said her husband was well off. She was here for a romantic evening with that husband or a lover. But the evening had not gone as planned. Somehow, she had ended up dead.

"Meet Genevieve Morton." Jo looked at Henry. "Now, I'm not a medical examiner, but I'm going to guess the C.O.D. is poison."

Henry looked at the victim. "Cadaveric spasms, foaming at the mouth, and dilated pupils; yes, I would say that is a fair diagnosis. Strychnine possibly, though it could be something as common as cyanide. I'll let the lab say for sure."

Hanson came out of the bathroom. "I'm not seeing any forced entry. If the killer poisoned the couple, they were let in or it was delivered to them another way."

Henry looked up. "Couple?"

"Yeah, her husband called it in. When the paramedics arrived, she was gone and he was showing symptoms. He's on his way to the hospital."

Jo looked around the room. "So what do you think? Champagne, room service, maybe the chocolates?"

Hanson shrugged. "Could be any of it."

Jo noticed Henry waving his hand over the room service leftovers. "Henry, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to see if the toxin is cyanide. Cyanide has an almond scent to it. Only one in ten people can smell Hydrogen Cyanide, fewer can actually smell the other forms."

"And you happen to be one of those people."

"Yes." Henry picked up the lid of the chocolates and then sniffed the box itself. "Whatever they were poisoned with, it wasn't cyanide."

Jo signaled to a CSU tech. "We should bag everything up, just in case."

"Of course." Henry put the lid on the box and handed it to the tech. "Now the question is if this couple was targeted or if it was a random attack."

Hanson pocketed his phone. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for an example, let's assume the chocolates were the source of the poison. If that's the case, how did this couple get them? Where they already here in the hotel room? Purchased from a store? Delivered to this couple with the champagne?"

Jo looked at the victim. "If they weren't targeted, there may be more boxes out there."

Henry nodded. "And if there are more boxes, there will be more victims."

 _ **London, 1945...**_

 _Henry was reluctant to leave the nursery at the end of his shift. The little boy Abigail had brought into their camp a month ago was so precious. Despite coming from a camp, he was healthy and well-nourished. Whoever his mother had been, she had cared for him. The woman who brought him to Abigail had vanished right after leaving the boy with them. He wondered who Abraham's guardian angel had been. If not for her, Abraham would be gone._

 _Abigail had followed Henry out of the nursery. "You don't want to leave him behind, do you?"_

 _Henry smiled. "No, I don't. But I can't adopt him."_

" _Why not, Dr. Morgan?"_

 _He sighed. "I'll be heading back out soon. And I have no family to care for him while I'm gone. It wouldn't be a good situation for him."_

" _Well, Dr. Morgan, I do have family who could take him in for you."_

" _I couldn't impose..."_

" _It wouldn't be. Henry, I can see how much he means to you. Abraham has you wrapped around his finger. If you wanted to give him a home and a life, I want to help with that."_

 _Henry smiled. "Would you like to go to dinner with me?"_

 _Abigail smiled too. "I would love to."_

 **Present…**

"Earth to Henry."

"Mmm?" He looked up, a little surprised to find they were outside.

Jo smiled. "You okay?"

"Yes. I was just thinking of the first time I asked Abigail on a date."

"Oh, yeah? A good story?"

"This was after Abraham had been left with my company in the Army. We travel back to London with him and he was placed in the nursery at the hospital we worked at. I asked her for a date right after we left the nursery to visit him."

Jo smiled. "That's sweet."

Henry glanced back toward the hotel. "I should go to the hospital to see what Mr. Morton's condition is. If he's awake, he may be able to help us with the evening's events."

"Yeah, that's where I was headed." She headed for her car. "So, you have plans for Valentine's Day?"

"Not at the moment. It's not a holiday I've felt like celebrating since Abigail left."

"Yeah, I was the same after Sean died."

Henry stopped by the passenger door. "So, what are your plans this year?"

Jo opened her door. "A cold beer and a sad movie. Maybe I'll splurge and have ice cream for dinner."

Henry got in. "That's not dinner."

Jo laughed. "It's not supposed to be. Eating junk food dinner is like eating comfort food."

"A release of dopamine and serotonin in the brain to create a feeling of contentment."

"Well, I don't know the science behind it, but yeah, that's why people do it." Jo drove them to the hospital.

* * *

Henry found the doctor in charge of the male victim's care and asked how he was doing. "Well, Mr. Morton is in critical condition. We pumped his stomach, and are administering drugs to flush the toxin from his bloodstream, but he's still suffering from the symptoms. Enough of the toxin entered his system before he arrived."

Jo made sure her badge was visible. "We'll need to speak to him."

"That's going to be difficult. He slipped into a coma. We're doing all we can, but prognosis isn't good right now."

Henry nodded. "May we see him?" The doctor led them to the room and said they had two minutes in there. "Thank you."

Jo followed Henry into the room. "I'm guessing we won't get much from him."

Henry shrugged. "Unless he wakes up, we won't hear what he has to say. But his body may still have some clues."

"What do you see?"

Henry looked at Mr. Morton's arms. "No bruises or scratches. That means he didn't fight with anyone." He continued his exam. "I would say he ingested the same toxin his wife did. I didn't see any obvious needle marks on her body, or his for that matter. They were poisoned, but not attacked first."

Jo nodded. "Yeah, they probably had dinner and then we're about to go to bed when she started showing symptoms."

"He called 911, but he'd already ingested enough toxin to end up here." Henry straightened up.

"Why is he shaking?"

"The toxin causes muscle convulsions. Until the toxin is removed from his system, and he will shake."

Jo shook her head. "Is he going to recover?"

"Not likely, though it is hard to tell. Strychnine is an alkaloid toxin. Even if he does survive, he will still suffer from brain damage at the very least."

Jo looked at Henry. "You're sure it's strychnine?"

Henry nodded. "With the symptoms his wife had, and the tremors he's experiencing now, it is unlikely to be anything else. Unfortunately, I don't think recovery is likely."

Jo sighed. "Come on. We should get back. The doctor will call if something changes."

* * *

The next morning, while the detectives looked into the Mortons, Henry and Lucas perform the autopsy. As expected, Mrs. Morton's body shows all the signs of strychnine poisoning. Her muscles had experienced a rapid onset of rigor mortis, her lungs showed symptoms similar to pulmonary edema, and her heart appear to have suffered cardiac arrest. Lucas drew a blood sample and ran the test for strychnine, which came back positive for the toxin. Henry opened her stomach and found three partially digested chocolates.

Henry turned to Lucas. "Did the lab process the chocolates yet?"

"Yeah, they just came back positive for strychnine."

"When ingested, it takes 50-100 milligrams of strychnine per one kilogram of the victim's weight to kill a human being. Did the lab figure out how much toxin is in each chocolate?"

"Uh," Lucas checked the folder, "yes. It was between a gram and one and a half grams in each chocolate. You know, something's bothering me with this. How did the couple not notice that something was wrong with the chocolate?"

"What do you mean?"

"I looked strychnine up. It's a bitter, crystalline toxin. So how did they not taste it?"

"Well, the chocolates are dark and milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is supposed to be bitter, so that would make it easy to mistake the toxin's bitterness as a flavor from the chocolate. As for milk chocolate, there is enough sugar in that to cover up the bitterness from the poison. I would imagine that is why this was the chosen method to deliver the toxin."

"Well, when you put it that way…"

The phone rang and Henry stripped off his gloves to answer it. "Dr. Morgan. Yes. I see. Thank you."

Lucas watched Henry hang up. "What was that?"

"Mr. Morton passed away a few minutes ago. Would you please go to the hospital and bring his body back here?"

Lucas set down the clipboard and camera. "Yeah."

* * *

 **A/N: So poisoning data is a bit hard to come by. If any of the information I have used is incorrect, I do apologize. Stay tuned for more!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank Azura - Princess of Twilight, phnxgrl, superlc529, foreverHenry919, KenH, and SSTrans for their reviews. SSTrans:** There was an episode of CSI: NY where the crime scene looked like the crime scene I used. Their case was very different, but images like that is the sort of thing I can get inspiration from. As for the type of poison... research. Lots and lots of research. **KenH:** Yes, we will. **superlc529:** English is my first language and I know about the tenses. Here's what happened: I've been trying out a dictation program to type up the cases (dictation is faster than typing for me) and I didn't catch all the errors that it made. Lesson learned. I'll need to be more thorough when I'm editing going forward. And yes, Season 2 is getting closer to the finale. **Azura - Princess of Twilight:** Welcome to the story! I'm glad you're enjoying it. **This chapter starts a couple hours after the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 32

Jo came down to the morgue without Hanson. "I heard Mr. Morton didn't make it."

"No, he did not." Henry stood between the two tables Mr. and Mrs. Morton were on. "Both were poisoned with strychnine. Muscle convulsions, tachycardia, and inability to breath properly quickly ended their lives. Official C.O.D. for Mrs. Morton is asphyxiation due to toxic exposure."

Jo was confused. "They were poisoned. How can her C.O.D. be asphyxiation?"

"Because of the muscle convulsions. Strychnine causes your muscles to tense and relax so rapidly that the diaphragm is essentially unable to move. If your diaphragm doesn't move, your chest cavity can't expand or contract."

"Which is a major part of breathing. So, you're saying they suffocated because the poison..."

"Toxin. Poison is an antiquated word that means a substance that can cause people to die or become very sick. While true, it is a very general term. Toxin is more accurate in this case."

"Okay… the toxin caused their muscles to seize up so that they couldn't get air into their lungs." Jo shook her head. "That's an awful way to go."

"Well, it could have been worse." Henry walk to the top of Mr. Morton's table. "His C.O.D. is widespread organ failure due to exhaustion. In a way, medical intervention may have done him more harm than good. Not that the doctors are to blame. Strychnine is simply that lethal."

"What causes the exhaustion? Muscle convulsions still?"

"That is one cause, yes. But tachycardia and the toxin itself also contribute."

"Tachycardia is a rapid heart rate, right?"

"Yes, that is the medical term for an increased heart rate." Henry covered Mrs. Morton. "What did you find out about the couple?" He moved to cover Mr. Morton.

"He is an investment banker with Sullivan & Cromwell, she is a school teacher. No kids and only Genevieve's parents are alive. Hanson is making the notification now. He wanted me to ask if the poisoning could be accidental."

"No, it is not. Strychnine comes from the Strychnos nux-vomica tree. At no point in the manufacturing of chocolates is any part of that tree used." Henry handed Jo the autopsy results. "Someone intentionally poisoned this couple. I still can't tell if they were targeted or randomly selected."

Jo shook her head. "Neither choice sounds very appealing."

Henry smiled sympathetically. "No, but a killer who chooses random victims is harder to catch, and it means more victims are coming. A targeted attack means there is a motive we can potentially find."

"True." Jo tapped the folders in her hands. "Okay, I'm going to take these upstairs. See you tomorrow night?"

Henry's brow furrowed. "What's tomorrow night?"

Jo smiled. "Our ice cream for dinner party. So you can experience a junk food, feel good evening for yourself."

Henry grinned and looked down. "I don't think I'll be joining you for that. Not tomorrow night at least."

"Oh, well. More ice cream for me."

 _ **London 1945…**_

 _Henry straightened his tie in the mirror. "I'm not sure if she'll like me."_

" _Dr. Henry Morgan. Are you yellow? Of course she likes you. She already said yes to a date with you." Henry's friend from his unit, Dr. William Barnes, laughed as he watched Henry's reflection fidget. "Good heavens, Henry. You had more courage when we were under fire near Lyon."_

" _That was different. Men were dying, they needed our help. I just... I haven't courted anyone for a long time. I'm bound to make a mess of this."_

 _Dr. Barnes laughed. "Henry, if you do, I will be happy to ask her out myself. A woman like that can have any man she wants and for some strange reason, she picked you. You know what that means?"_

 _Henry turned to face his friend. "That she likes me?"_

" _Don't be dense, Henry. She more than likes you. Now, get out there and show her a good time. You never know, maybe she let you take her on another date sometime."_

 **Present…**

Not long after Jo had gone back to the upstairs, Lucas got the lab report for Mr. Morton. Like his wife, he had ingested enough strychnine in three chocolates to die despite medical intervention. Henry set down the folder and looked out the window of his office. Abraham was worried about him. Now that he had renewed his relationship with Fawn, he felt his father needed someone too. Henry knew he needed to move on with his life at some point. Maybe it was time.

His ringing phone interrupted his thoughts. "Dr. Morgan."

" _Hey, Henry. Call just came in; we've got more victims. At the Roosevelt this time. You know where that is?_ "

"Of course. I'll meet you there."

* * *

The crime scene at the Roosevelt looked very similar to the one at the Muse. The victims had also rented a nice suite, ordered room service and a bottle of champagne, and the same brand of boxed chocolates was on the nightstand by the bed. This time though, the couple were both in bed. Their arms were wrapped around each other, pain and fear frozen on their faces, marking their emotions at the time of their death. It wasn't a pleasant way to die.

"Strychnine. A horrible way to go." Henry approached the bed. "They died together. It's romantic."

"There's nothing romantic about being poisoned, Doc." Hanson came out of the bathroom.

"No, of course the poisoning isn't romantic. I'm talking about dying with the one you love. That might be what the killer was aiming for."

"You lost me."

"Look at the scene. Minus the contortion of their faces, this couple has died with their arms wrapped around each other. I think the killer is targeting couples to express how they feel about love."

Jo nodded. "You think the killer... what? Lost someone they loved and now wants to make sure other people's happiness is ruined?"

"Exactly." Henry took a closer look at the chocolate box. "And I believe the killer is a woman."

Hanson scoffed. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, statistically speaking, poison is a woman's weapon of choice. But there's also the fact that there is a perfume scent on this box that doesn't match the victim's fragrance. The victim wears Chanel Chance Eau Tendre. The bottle was in the bathroom behind you, Detective Hanson. This scent is most likely," Henry took another sniff, "L`Erbolario Iris, or perhaps Lorenzo Villoresi Teint de Neige."

"And he has a thing for women's perfume." Hanson looked at Jo.

"No, just a good nose and memory." Henry stood up.

Jo walked around the room. "So we're back to the question: is the killer picking people at random, or are the victims targets? What do we know about this couple?"

Hanson cleared his throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael. He is a senior partner at the James, Forsyth, and Carmichael Law Firm. She is a secretary for Judith Carrington."

"The fashion mogul?"

"You are correct, Jo. They're from Boston, though, so I'm not sure how they could be connected to the Morton's." Hanson pocketed his phone.

"They just came to New York for a romantic Valentine's weekend vacation." Henry shook his head. "It just didn't go as planned."

* * *

"Abraham, are you home?"

"Hey, Henry. I'm upstairs."

Henry reach the landing and looked into the kitchen. "How did your date go?"

"Really good, I think. I wanted to tell you about it this morning, but you were already gone."

"Yes, sorry about that. This case already has four bodies and no suspects. I'm just a little frustrated by that. But enough about my troubles. Tell me about your date."

"Pops, Fawn is just as wonderful as I remember. No, she's better than I remember. I'm so glad we got to reconnect after all this time." Abe's smile was infectious; he was really happy today.

"I am too. I haven't seen you this happy in a long time."

"Now, it's your turn."

Henry' brow contracted. "My turn for what?"

"For someone to make you happy." Abe looked at Henry for a long moment. "Have you been thinking about what I said?"

"Yes, I have."

"And?"

"I think I'm going to pursue Anneliese." Henry walked to the window. "I know you don't exactly approve..."

"No, I don't approve, but not for the reasons you think." Abe sat on the sofa. "Come here, sit down."

Henry sat in his chair. "Why don't you approve? She is family to you, after all. Sort of."

"She's the woman who saved my life and raised me for awhile, yes, but that's not why I don't approve. I don't approve because you're not thinking with your heart, you're using your head. Pops, I can tell you don't love her."

"But Abraham, she is the right choice. I'll never have to fear her growing old or dying. She won't leave me because of her age. We would be able to be together forever."

Abe held up his hands. "Okay, stop, listen to me for a moment. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer me honestly. Can you do that?"

"Of course."

"Okay." He took a deep breath. "Let's assume that Anneliese is mortal, like Jo. If Adam is going to shoot one of them, and it was up to you who you would save, which would you choose?"

Henry didn't even hesitate. "Jo."

"There's your answer. Henry, I can see how you feel about Jo. And if you really think about it, Anneliese will still be around after Jo is gone. You should take advantage of the time you have with Jo while she's still around." Abe got up and walked out of the room.

Henry stayed in his chair. Abe was right. Jo was the woman who had captured his heart and Anneliese would still be around after Jo was gone. If he wanted to be with someone who would never leave because time was separating them, he could wait until after the woman he loved was no longer a part of his life. It was time for him to move on from Abigail. He had loved her deeply, and he always would, but he had a woman in his life now that he could potentially love just as much. It was time to take a chance with Jo.

* * *

 **A/N: The final scene is one I've been wanting to write for a long time and this was the first case where it really worked. Stay tuned!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank KenH, a Guest, superlc529, and SSTrans for their reviews. SSTrans:** Glad you liked the last scene. Only Abe would be able to say what Henry needed in the way Henry needed it to be said. **superlc529:** I really enjoyed writing the Abigail scenes. We got to see so little of their lives together, I always enjoy getting the opportunity to flesh out Henry and Abigail's story. **KenH:** Everyone really should do an ice cream for dinner at least once in their lives. And thanks; I'm glad you liked the chapter. **This chapter starts with a flashback. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 33

 _ **London 1945…**_

 _Henry stood waiting for Abigail to come down from the apartment she was sharing with another nurse. He was still nervous, but he was also excited. Abigail was a wonderful woman, one he didn't deserve, but for some strange reason she liked him too. He looked up as the apartment building's door opened. Abigail was standing in the doorway wearing a black dress and wrapped in a white shawl. Henry knew he was staring, but I couldn't help it. After all, he was looking at the most beautiful woman in the world._

" _Hello, Dr. Morgan."_

" _Abigail. You look... stunning. I'm a bit speechless."_

 _Abigail blushed. "Thank you. You're quite handsome yourself. Where we going tonight?"_

" _I thought we might go dancing tonight."_

" _That sounds lovely. Shall we?"_

 _Henry opened the car door. "Your chariot, my lady."_

 _Abigail laughed. "Oh, thank you, kind sir."_

 _The evening was wonderful. They first went to dinner and then to the local dance hall. Despite the destruction in London, the dance hall was packed with couples trying to forget the horrors of the war for just this one night. The band was lively, playing the songs that were most popular at the time. Abigail and Henry laughed and danced the night away. It didn't matter that they would be returning to the war in a month. Tonight, they just enjoyed each other's company._

 _On the drive back, Abigail leaned on his shoulder and eventually fell asleep. Henry looked down at what he could see of Abigail's face and smiled as he turned back to the road. She was so beautiful and funny and charming. She was everything he was looking for in a woman. He sighed; should he really be getting involved with her? She was mortal, she would age, she would one day die, and there wasn't a thing he could do to delay or stop it. All the other women he'd been with so far… he'd had to leave them eventually; how would this be any different?_

 **Present…**

"... And that is why I try to avoid Valentine's Day."

Henry looked up. "Sorry, what?"

Lucas looked disappointed. "You weren't listening?"

"I try to avoid listening to people complain about their love life." Henry stood up. "Did the analysis on the chocolate boxes come back yet?"

"Yeah, they found a few fingerprints on the second box. They're running them now. Do you really not care about my love life?" Lucas still looked hurt.

Henry sighed, choosing his words carefully. "Lucas, I didn't stop listening because of a lack of care for you. I stopped listening because you were complaining and when I hear complaints like that, it reminds me about Abigail. Those memories hurt."

"Oh, sorry." Lucas turned to leave the office, but turned back. "Who's Abigail? Abe's mom?"

"Oh, no. I mean, yes, his adoptive mother's name was Abigail. But I was married to an Abigail once upon a time. She left a long time ago."

"I'm sorry, Henry." He moved toward Henry.

"What are you doing?"

"Still not in hugging territory. Got it. I'll check on those fingerprints." Lucas opened the door and left.

Jo walked into Henry's office with her eyes on Lucas' back as he walked away. "What's going on with him?"

"I told him about Abigail. Just the basics. And then he tried to give me a hug." Henry watched Lucas leave the morgue. "I'm not that close to him."

"Yet." Jo looked at Henry's face to see his reaction. "Oh, come on, Henry. He could be a great friend if you let him. But that's not why I'm here. Where are you with the autopsies for Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael?"

Henry grabbed his lab coat and headed into the morgue. "I got to work on those when I came in this morning. They've been done for a couple hours now."

"Why am I just hearing about this now?"

"I was waiting for the toxicology report to confirm strychnine. It should be arriving..." a lab assistant handed Henry a file, "now, it would seem. Blood work and chocolates confirm strychnine."

"Not surprising. Time of death?"

"Around 11:30 last night; and I'm afraid there isn't much I can tell you besides that. Nothing in their cause of death or toxin delivery method differs from the Mortons." Henry covered Mrs. Carmichael. "Other than their employment, what do we know about the victims?"

"While you were doing the autopsies, Hanson and I talked to their employers via Skype. We know a bit more about their work lives, but they were still very private people. Their coworkers didn't know a lot about them. And the families have been notified. Their... their children are in Boston with a Grandma."

Henry sighed. "How many?"

"Two. Amos and Bailey. Bailey is the oldest, but she's only five. Amos is two." Jo sighed. "Those are rough ages to lose one parent, let alone both of them. When did you tell Abraham he was adopted?"

"I think he was eight. He'd started noticing some things were different between him and us. That was tough for him to hear, but I know he was grateful to have parents."

"I'll bet." Jo grabbed the autopsy files from the nearby desk. "Getting back on topic, we are still back to the question of whether the victims were targets or random victims?"

"I still can't answer that question yet. Lucas is in the crime lab waiting for the fingerprint results to come back."

Jo looked up from the victim's files. "Wait, there were prints? Where?"

"On the chocolate box from the second crime scene." Henry covered Mrs. Carmichael.

"They have an ID." Lucas held up the page as he came back into the morgue. "The fingerprints match an Elena Curtis. She was arrested two years ago for unlawfully protesting outside a popular flower shop. She's also got a blog dedicated to ranting about the futility of love. There's her address." He handed the page to Henry.

Jo intercepted it. "Thank you."

* * *

Jo and Hanson park down the block from Mrs. Curtis's apartment building and checked their vests before heading into the building. A couple uniforms were with them to set up a perimeter in case the suspect tried to run. Jo led the way to the apartment and knocked on the door. Her hand was resting on the gun on her hip and Hanson had his out, pointing at the floor. They had taken positions on either side of the door, waiting for the suspect to answer it.

"Elena Curtis, NYPD! Open up!"

A voice on the other side of the door called out. "Don't shoot! I'm opening the door!" The door slowly opened. "I don't know who you're looking for, but no one living here is named Elena Curtis."

"May we come in?"

"Sure." The young redhead opened the door further and stepped back. "I've only lived here for a couple weeks. Maybe she was the previous tenant?"

Hanson holstered his gun. "Who are you?"

"Stella. Stella Kirkpatrick. My roommate's name is Jessica Gardner. What's going on?"

Jo had taken a tour of the flat. "No one else is here. Did you and your roommate move in at the same time?"

Stella nodded. "Yeah. Just over two weeks ago. I guess the woman who lived here before us moved out in a hurry. What did she do?"

"I'm sorry, but we really can't discuss the case. Thank you for your time. Sorry to barge in on you." Jo held out her hand.

Stella took it. "Thanks for not kicking down the door. I hope you catch this Elena woman soon."

"Thanks." Hanson shook her hand and headed out of the out the door. "Guess we should have checked with the landlord before coming up here."

"The mailbox label was blank. I didn't think anything of it at the time." Jo hit the button for the elevator. "Henry wouldn't have missed that. Well, probably not."

One of the uniforms, Officer Rooke, had been assigned to ride the elevator in case Ms. Curtis came home. "Is no one home? Are we staking out the building?"

"Neither. The suspect doesn't live here anymore. We're going to talk to the landlord to confirm."

"I'll notify the others." Officer Rook stepped out of the elevator and walked outside.

Jo led the way to the landlord's office. "Let's hope he knows what happened." She knocked on the door.

The door opened. "Yes, can I help you?" The woman who opened the door was in her mid-fifties and had a face that spoke of years of hardship, but was still somehow kind.

Hanson flashed his badge. "Are you the landlord here?"

"Yes, I am. Come in. What can I do to help?"

Jo took the offered seat. "We are looking for a woman named Elena Curtis. According to our information, she lives here. Which apartment is she in?"

"Oh, she moved out about a month ago. I guess it would be more accurate to say that I kicked her out. She was disturbing the other tenants. I couldn't continue to let her cause trouble."

"What would she do?"

"She would act rudely, call out people for kissing in public, post flyers in the hallways that would 'prove' that love was stupid, you know, stuff like that. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, but when you deal with that behavior every day for months, it grates on you. No one in the building wanted to deal with her anymore and neither did I, so she had to go."

Jo leaned forward. "Do you know why she acted that way?"

The landlord leaned back. "You know; she didn't start acting that way until about a month after her fiancé broke off their engagement. I can't remember his name."

"Did he live here too?"

"No, he had his own place on the Upper East Side. She was supposed to move there after they were married."

Hanson turned to Jo. "That sounds like a stressor to me. Maybe he recently got married and that's what set her off."

"Maybe." Jo turned back to the landlord. "Did you get an invitation for her wedding?"

"Yes!" She turned to her desk and opened a drawer. "I still have it here, I think. Where is it... There. Her fiancé's name was Jonathan Baker."

"Why do I know that name?" Hanson grabbed his phone and looked up the name. "Jonathan Baker is the heir to the Kingsley fortune and business. And he's getting married today at 2 p.m." Hanson checked his watch. "That was an hour ago."

"Getting married on Valentine's Day? Hell of a way to not forget your anniversary." Jo stood up. "Where?"

"The Plaza. I'll get in touch with the family. Find out what the couple's plans are. She may be targeting him."

Jo shook the landlord's hand. "Thank you for your time."

* * *

 **A/N: Dun-Dun-Duunnn! What happen's next? Stay tuned...**


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, superlc529, and KenH for their reviews. KenH:** Writing for a crazy-ex-girlfriend type character was fun. I hope it seems realistic. **superlc529:** Nothing happens at the wedding. Writing that moment with Lucas was a lot of fun, and I love writing Abigail scenes too. **phnxgrl:** That was a fun scene to write. **This chapter is a little bit long, so enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 34

Henry got to The Plaza first and took a seat in the lobby. The detectives arrived soon after and they explained what had happened at the suspect's last known address. Henry told them about how he had examined the chocolates closely and discovered the faint remnants of the suspect's doctoring of the chocolates. She had cut the chocolates in half, scraped out the butter cream filling, mixed the filling with the toxin and then put the filling back in, melting the seams together again to cover it all up.

"Paramedics are on their way." Jo put away her phone.

Hanson shook his head. "Okay, she's smart, I'll give her that. But she must know that the police would figure it out eventually, right?"

"I hope she's assuming it will take us more time." Henry headed toward the counter. "We should let the hotel staff know that Mr. and Mrs. Baker are in danger."

"And to be on the lookout for Elena Curtis." Jo held up her badge when she got to the counter. "Hi, NYPD. We're here because Mr. and Mrs. Baker are in danger. Are they staying here tonight?"

"Yes." The desk clerk typed in the name. "They are in the honeymoon suite. I'll inform the security staff of the threat. Is there someone specific to keep an eye out for?"

"Yeah." Hanson held up Elena's picture. "This woman. Her name is Elena Curtis. Have you seen her?"

"Yes." The clerk had gone pale. "She was here, in a delivery uniform. Kathy's flowers, I think. She was here to deliver flowers and chocolates to the couple. I sent her up to the room a couple minutes ago."

Henry turned the elevator. "We have to get there, quickly. Only a little strychnine can do a lot of damage."

The clerk quickly ran to the front of the group. "There's a staff elevator that isn't used much this time of night. It will be a lot faster."

Just like the clerk had said, the elevator was waiting on the ground floor. He used his key card to open the elevator and then selected the top floor. On the way up, he handed Jo his key card and told her it would open any door in the hotel. He also gave them directions to the room and said he would take the elevator back to the ground floor and call the paramedics.

Jo checked her gun. "Henry, you should stay with him."

"No. That couple will need medical attention if they've ingested any of the toxin. I need to be available for them."

"Fine, but if Curtis is still here, you need to stay back."

Henry nodded. "That I can do."

Hanson's phone chirped. "Reece came through. Back up just arrived. They're setting up a perimeter downstairs."

"Good." The elevator doors opened. "Let's go."

Hanson entered the hallway first, his gun out and sweeping the hallway. "Clear."

Jo and Henry hurried toward the room and knocked on the door. "NYPD, we're coming in." Jo inserted the master key into the locking mechanism and the light flashed green. "Mr. and Mrs. Baker, my name is Detective Jo Martinez. Where is Elena Curtis?"

"Elena?" Mr. Baker was very confused.

Henry pushed passed the cops. "Mr. Baker, put down the chocolates. They're poisoned. Elena Curtis is trying to kill you and your wife."

Mrs. Baker looked at her husband. "Your ex?"

Henry took the box from Mr. Baker. "How many did you eat?"

"We both had two."

Henry looked at Jo. "They need the paramedics right now."

Hanson returned to the main room. "No one else is here."

A uniform appeared in the door frame. "Detectives, uniforms downstairs say they got her leaving the building. She was wearing a delivery uniform."

"Great." Paramedics appeared in the doorway and Jo waved them in. "Mr. and Mrs. Baker need to be treated for strychnine poisoning."

"They may have ingested two or three grams." Henry bagged the box of chocolates. "I suggest inducing vomiting as soon as possible."

Mr. Baker turned to Henry. "We're right here."

"Sir, I am a doctor. I know this isn't how you wish to spend the first night of your honeymoon, but I'm trying to save both of your lives. Trust me, speed is of the essence right now. The sooner the toxin exits your system, the better."

"Two grams isn't a lot."

"Two grams is all it takes to kill you." Henry gestured to the paramedics. "There's a window to avoid any lasting side effects. Let these men do their jobs, Mr. Baker. Please."

One of the EMT's turned to Henry. "You'll need the vomit for evidence?"

Henry nodded. "Yes."

Jonathan Baker followed the paramedics to the bathroom of the suite; his wife had to be led there because she was in shock. Henry looked at the chocolates in the evidence bag. They had come so close to failing. The possibility that the Baker's would suffer some sort of side effect was still high, but they would be rushed to the hospital soon, hopefully before symptoms began to manifest. They should be just fine.

* * *

Elena Curtis was handcuffed to the interrogation room table. She'd been staring at the mirror with a bored expression for a long time now. Henry was watching her from the other side of the mirror. _She isn't sorry for her actions_. Someone who regretted their actions wouldn't be bored at a police station. No, she knew what she had done was wrong; she just didn't care. Henry wondered if she would admit to her actions or not. Jo stood next to Henry and watched Curtis too.

Henry turned to Jo. "Are you ready?"

"I just have to wait for Hanson. I'd like you to keep an eye on her from here and let us know if she's lying or not. Think you can handle that?"

Henry nodded. "Yes. I'll knock if I have any concerns."

Hanson walked in. "We ready?"

"Yep." Jo walked into the interrogation room. "Elena Curtis..."

"Is Jonathan dead yet?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

Hanson sat down. "Which answer gets you to talk?"

Elena smiled. "I'll take that as a no. That's too bad. Six counts of murder just... sounds better than four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murders. Wouldn't you agree, Detectives?"

"No, I don't, and it doesn't." Jo sat down too. "You've ended four lives and tried to end two more. You left your prints on the chocolate boxes, which would only say you touch the boxes, if it wasn't for the fact that the prints were on the inside of the boxes. Boxes that were sealed when they were delivered."

"I knew I should have worn gloves." Curtis shifted in her seat. "Oh, well. Guess I'm going to jail now."

"I just have one question. Why did you do it?"

"To prove that love is not as wonderful as the movies and stories say. Love won't save you from death. Love won't protect you from bad people doing bad things. People like me." Elena looked at Jo. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." Jo sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "How did you pick the couples?"

"You think that they were targeted?" Curtis laughed. "Only my spineless ex-fiancé was targeted. The others are simply unlucky enough to be in the honeymoon suite or the closest equivalent. I didn't know the others."

"The Carmichaels had children." Hanson slid a family portrait on to the table. "Did you know that? Or did you just not care."

"I didn't care. It didn't matter." Curtis looked between the two detectives. "Look, I'll admit to it all. I just need someone to give me a pen and some paper."

Jo slid the pad of paper to Curtis. "Start writing." She went into the observation room. "I didn't expect her to cave so easily. What do you think?"

Henry shrugged. "She's not lying. I think she truly believes what she did was right or necessary."

"What did she just do?" Jo rushed into the interrogation room. "What did she take?"

Hanson was standing over Curtis is she convulsed on the floor. "I don't know. She was writing and then she started doing that."

Henry knelt by Curtis' head and held it in his hands. "Bring me a glass of sour milk and baking soda. We need to induce vomiting." Hanson rushed out of the room as Henry leaned in and took a sniff. "Belay that. She took a cyanide capsule. It's already too late."

Elena Curtis' body stopped shaking and she exhaled. Henry checked her pulse and started chest compressions, but they all knew Henry was right. Medics came in and took over not long after Henry got started. They performed CPR and use the defibrillator for a couple of minutes, but called out a time of death soon after. Hanson was sitting in the corner of the room, a glass of sour milk and baking soda at his side, staring at the medics as they packed up their equipment. He was looking lost, or maybe it was shocked, so Jo went over to sit by his side.

"How are you doing?"

Hanson scoffed. "How am I doing? I just watched a suspect commit suicide with something we should have found when she was searched. How does something like this happen?"

Henry came over to the detectives. "She's missing a tooth now. The capsule was hidden in a false tooth. No search would have found it. It's not your fault. No one is at fault."

"You're sure, Doc?"

"I am. I'll perform the autopsy in the morning, if that's alright by everyone."

Jo nodded. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Henry oversaw the transfer of Ms. Curtis' body to the morgue and then left to go home. "Goodnight, Lucas."

"Goodnight, Dr. Morgan."

* * *

Henry had just left the building when Jo caught up to him. "Henry! Hey, wait."

"Detective?" Henry stopped and turned to find out what she needed. "What is it?"

"How did you know it was cyanide?"

"Cyanide smells like bitter almonds..."

"And you're one of the few people who can smell it, right." Jo hesitated. "Um, I could use a junk food dinner right about now. I... just... I just wanted you to know that the offer still stands."

Henry smiled. "After the way this day ended, I would love to join you. Shall we?"

Jo smiled. "My car is this way."

 ** _London 1945…_**

 _Henry pulled up to the curb and looked at Abigail as she slept on his arm. She was beautiful and kind and he had truly enjoyed her company tonight. Would this relationship be any different than the others? It could be, if he actually put in the effort. He looked away. The problem was, they were medics in the war. They were headed back to their unit at the end of the month. Henry shook his head; he wasn't going to let those thoughts ruin this. He wanted to be with Abigail and nothing was going to stop him from trying if she wanted to be with him too._

 _Abigail stirred and looked up at him. "I'm sorry for falling asleep on you."_

 _Henry smiled. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind."_

 _She sat up. "We're here? How long ago did we stop?"_

 _Henry opened his door. "Not long." He came around the car and opened her door. "I'll walk you up."_

 _Abigail sighed. "I had the most wonderful time tonight. I almost don't want it to end. Thank you, Dr. Morgan."_

" _Call me Henry." They paused outside her building's door. "I enjoyed our time too. May I see you again?"_

" _So formal, Henry." Abigail laughed. "Just phone me when you want to take me on another date."_

 _Henry smiled. "I shall." He leaned forward and kissed her briefly on the lips. "Until next time."_

 _Abigail smiled. "Next time."_

 **Present…**

Jo opened the door to her place. "Thanks for coming over. Junk food nights are more fun with someone else."

"So, how does a 'junk food night' usually work?"

Jo laughed. "You eat what you want." She led the way to her kitchen. "Now, for me, I'm going to build an ice cream sundae. But, you can eat something else if you want. Cookies are in the cupboard and the ice cream is in the freezer; you can even make some popcorn, if you want."

"In the microwave?"

Jo grabbed a bowl and an ice cream scoop. "There's a machine under that counter if the microwave makes you squeamish, but you'll have to figure out how to use it. I never have. That was Sean's thing."

Henry opened the cupboard and looked at the machine. "The microwave will be fine."

"Good." Jo threw a bag in the microwave and got it started. "We're making so much progress with you."

"Don't push your luck, Jo." He looked in the freezer while she laughed. "Which is your favorite?"

"This one." She grabbed the cookies and cream. "It is a great base for a sundae. You can put whatever you want on it. Well, almost."

They built sundaes and munched on popcorn. It took some convincing, but Henry finally tried popcorn with chocolate chips on it. By the time the sundaes had been polished off, Henry finally understood why people would indulge like this. It felt good to not worry about what you ate. The dopamine and serotonin being released in his brain made him feel happy. They talked about some things, mostly Henry's past, and laughed at the stories he told. It took him a couple hours, but he finally had gathered up the courage to ask Jo a question.

"I've enjoyed this evening, Jo."

"Good." She looked at him. "What's up?"

Just because he was ready to ask didn't mean it was easy though. "I've… I've been wondering… Would you like to go on a date with me?"

Jo smiled softly. "What about Anneliese? Doesn't it make more sense to ask her out?"

"From an immortality standing, yes. I'm sorry if that sounds horrible; I don't wish to sound insensitive. But, I... I don't have… feelings… for Anneliese. I do have feelings for you. And I'm hoping that you have some feelings for me. Enough to let me take you on a date, at least."

Jo nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

* * *

 **A/N: I'll take the next couple weeks off to finish editing the next case and then I'll be back to posting. Stay tuned!**


	35. Chapter 35

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, superlc529, KenH, SSTrans, and foreverHenry919 for their reviews. SSTrans:** Don't worry about it; I totally understand those weeks. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. **foreverHenry919:** I shipped them too. As for the case, figuring out how to poison the chocolates was an interesting thought exercise, but I'm glad you liked it. **KenH:** The suicide was hardest on Hanson (blaming himself for letting it happen). I do like putting the characters in difficult positions, and that was actually a "fun" scene to write. I thought Jo wouldn't be one to gush, and she's smart enough to recognize the choice Henry is making (heart over head). Only Abe could have pushed Henry into living, not just existing. **superlc529:** Elena was an interesting character to write. I don't usually go for the complete psychopath/sociopath types, so that was fun. Henry and Jo will have been together for about a month at the beginning of this case. And Henry won't be staying out of the river forever...

 **This chapter is a little bit long, so enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 35

Jo pulled into a parking space and turned off the car. "I'm going to let you in on one of the best dates Shaun ever took me on." She grabbed the bag of Chinese food from the backseat. "Dig in."

Henry was confused. "We're staying here?"

"Yeah." Jo broke apart a pair of chopsticks. "One of my favorite things to do when Shaun and I were dating was to park the car and eat while we talked."

Henry smiled as he opened a box of orange chicken. "That's similar to how courting worked when I was young. Minus the cars. You would go for a walk in the park and find a bench you liked. Your chaperone would be nearby though. I don't miss that part."

"Yeah, I'm glad we don't do that anymore." Jo started to eat.

Henry smiled. "How did you learn to use chopsticks?"

"You first."

Henry chuckled. "I… Well, I traveled to China in 1832. Spent some time there. I can't speak the language as well as a native, but I can get by. So, how about you?"

"Come on, Henry; this is New York."

"And I know a good number of adults who have no clue how to use them. So how did you learn?"

Jo smiled. "My mother wanted to make sure her children could eat the food of another culture using that culture's utensils. And the first one she taught us was chopsticks." She laughed.

"What?"

"I'm just remembering something that happened in high school."

Henry lowered his chopsticks. "Tell me."

"Okay, so I took a cooking class in high school. It was the last year it was offered. Somehow, I ended up being the only one in my group who actually did any cooking. Come to think of it, I'm not sure why that was. Hmm. I guess my group was a bit lazy. Anyway, we were cooking tempura and the teacher was going around showing everyone how to use chopsticks."

"But you already knew how."

"Exactly. So I'm thinking, 'Great, I can just keep cooking.' She gets to my group, shows them how to hold the chopsticks, has them grab a piece of tempura, and then she sees that I'm not paying attention. So she calls me over. 'Jo, you need to learn how to use chopsticks.' Well, I've got some stuff in the frying oil, so I went to the table, grabbed a pair, used them to pop a piece of tempura in my mouth, and went back to cooking."

Henry was smiling. "What did she do?"

Jo laughed. "She said, 'Okay, I guess you know how to use them,' and went to the next group."

Henry laughed too. "That's a good story."

"Thanks." They ate for a few minutes. "What do you miss most about your life before you became immortal?"

"Hmm, I'll have to think about that." He thought while he took another bite. "I miss my father. My mother died when I was very young. I don't really remember her. But my father, at least a few years before the end of his life, was a very principled man. He taught me to be the man I am."

"Would he have liked me?"

"Probably not."

Jo acted affronted. "What? Why not?"

"It's nothing personal, it's just that ladies of Spanish heritage were generally frowned upon in England. But keep in mind that I was raised at the end of the 1700's. Things were different back then. England and Spain would fluctuate between being allies and enemies every few years."

"What if he lived now?"

"If he lived now, I'm sure he would have loved you." Henry smiled at Jo.

"From what you've told me, I think I would have liked him too." She finished off her box. "What else?"

Henry and Jo talked for a long time. The topics ranged from Henry's past to Jo's childhood, to current events and beyond. The food was eaten and the empty boxes were returned to the bag. Time was forgotten. Henry hadn't been this happy since he'd been with Abigail and he loved this. Jo made him happy. It didn't matter that she was mortal; he wanted to be with her and he was glad he'd chosen to give this relationship a chance. He would have to thank Abraham for pushing him in the right direction.

Jo grabbed the fortune cookies. "Pick one."

"You know this is an American tradition, right?"

"Yes, but I don't care. Come on, pick."

Henry took a cookie. "Ladies first."

Jo broke the cookie and pulled out the slip of paper. "It says, 'Someone from your past will come back into your life.' I wonder who."

Henry broke his cookie. "Mine reads, 'Someone close to you will need support soon.' I've never read into these things."

"I don't either, but they're still fun." She looked at her watch. "It's getting late. I'd better get you home. We have work in the morning."

* * *

Jo pulled to the curb outside the antique store. "Here you are."

"I've really enjoyed tonight. Perhaps we could have another date like this soon."

"Anytime."

Henry leaned in and kissed Jo. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She watched him get out of the car and go inside before she drove off. She smiled as she drove away. _He kissed me_. She felt like a five-year-old for thinking about the kiss that way, but she was feeling giddy about it at the same time. She liked Henry a lot and was happy to see that he liked her too.

Jo parked near her townhouse and went inside. She couldn't help but smile while she was getting ready for bed. When she'd been dating Isaac, she'd enjoyed the attention he gave her and there were some nights where'd she'd felt like this, but it was different with Henry. Maybe it had something to with the secret she kept with him, or maybe it was the way they'd started off as friends, but she felt like she was falling for him. She climbed into bed and blew a kiss to the picture of Shaun at her bedside. _You would have liked Henry._

* * *

The lights had been off for almost two hours now. The man got out of his car and walked up to the front door. He had been practicing how to pick locks for a while and his target's front door offered no real challenge tonight. Downtown might be active at this time of night, but this neighborhood was asleep, so no one saw him slip inside. He closed the front door and stood in the entryway letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. The alarm beeped softly to his right, so he entered the code.

The beeping stopped and the man looked around the entryway as his eyes became accustomed to the gloom. The stairs were to the left. His target's bedroom would be upstairs, so he walked softly to the steps. He put his foot on the first one and it creaked. He froze, listening to the silence. It didn't seem like she'd woken up, so he continued up the stairs, making sure to tread a bit more carefully. At last, he arrived at the top of the stairs.

Now that he was closer to the woman, the man walked even more softly, not wanting to wake her before he had found her. He checked the rooms up here. A bathroom, home office, and hall closet greeted him before he found the master bedroom. The detective's soft breathing told the man that she was still asleep. He slipped into the room and gently shut the door behind him. He then went to stand by the edge of her bed and watched her sleep.

Detective Jo Martinez looked at peace while she slept. "Sweet dreams, Detective."

Adam reached out and clamped a gloved hand over her mouth. Jo's eyes immediately flew open and locked onto Adam's gaze. She started to fight him, kicking out of the sheets and flailing at him with her fists. Adam groaned as she struck him, but managed to hold on. Her training had kicked in and she was going for the nightstand drawer. He didn't want to have wasted his chance, so he grabbed the tranquilizer he'd brought with him and jabbed it into her thigh. Slowly, she stopped fighting as the sedative took effect and then stopped moving when she passed out.

"This was supposed to be a little less painful." He walked into the bathroom to look at the marks she'd left. "I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised."

After spending a few minutes to leave a few breadcrumbs around the house, Adam picked Jo up and carried her out of her home. This is why he'd waited until this late at night. No one was awake or up and about to see this. He put Jo in the trunk of his car and used duct tape to bind her wrists and ankles. A final piece was placed over her mouth before he closed the trunk and got into the driver's seat. _Henry had thought she was safe. He'd thought Jo was protected from harm. He'd see how wrong he was soon enough._

* * *

Henry was in the middle of eating breakfast when the phone rang. "Hello?"

Hanson was on the other end. " _Hey, is Jo with you?_ "

"No… Why would she be with me?"

" _Well, the two of you are dating. I just thought you guys might have… you know…_ "

"Jo and I are not engaged in intercourse, Detective. What's wrong?"

" _Okay, I didn't need to know that. Um... there was an escape at some point last night. The guy you know as Adam managed to slip out of the prison after_ _lock-down_."

Henry was frozen. Adam had been arrested almost three months ago, but he hadn't tried to kill himself after that. Henry had assumed that meant Adam wanted to try and beat the murder charge before he tried to go after him. Now Henry knew that Adam had simply been biding his time, waiting for the suicide watch to be lifted so that no one was observing him constantly. It was a lot easier to kill yourself when no one was looking your way. Henry was instantly afraid again.

" _Did you hear me, Doc?_ "

"No, sorry. What did you say?"

" _I've been trying to call Jo, but she's not answering._ "

"That's... I'm going to her home."

" _Me too. I'll keep calling her, too. See you there_."

Henry hung up. "Abraham! Where are the car keys!"

Abe came out of his room. "What's going on?"

"Adam escaped from prison and Jo might be missing."

"No-no-no, you're not driving my car. I'll drive."

* * *

Abraham and Henry arrived first. "You think he's in there?"

"I hope not." Henry got out of the car and grabbed a pair of gloves from his coat pocket. "Either way, I'd prefer if you stayed out here."

Abraham got out of the car too. "You can't go in there alone. I'm coming with you."

"Abraham, please." Henry looked at his son gravely.

Abe nodded. "Okay, okay, I'll only go as far as the front door."

Henry accepted his son's compromise and they walked to Jo's front door together. Henry knocked on the red door and it swung open slowly. Henry sighed. _A slightly ajar door was never a good sign._ He pushed it open the rest of the way. Abe was about to follow, but a glance from Henry had him staying on the stoop. Henry looked around the entryway. Hanging from the banister at the bottom of the stairs was a piece of paper. As Henry got closer, he could see writing on it.

Hanson walked in. "Excuse me, Abe. What did you find, Henry?"

"Adam took her." Henry read the note out loud. "This is addressed to me. ' _Henry, I told you she wouldn't be safe. Come and find me. The next round of our game has begun. Adam._ ' He took her and he thinks it's part of a game."

"'The next round?' What is he talking about?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe Jo arresting him marked the end of the first round? Or maybe when he sent Clark Walker into my laboratory was the first round and his arrest was the second? It doesn't matter; what matters is that he took Jo."

Hanson checked his gun, his face grave and barely controlling the panic and fear he felt. "Doc, that may be the best case scenario."

Henry paled. "You're saying he may have killed her?"

Hanson nodded. "We gotta check upstairs."

Hanson made sure the bottom level was clear before he headed up the stairs with Henry right behind him. Abe stepped inside, but he stayed downstairs. Hanson cleared each of the rooms they passed and then he opened the master bedroom door. Henry looked inside and was both relieved and terrified to see that Jo wasn't here. _At least she put up a fight._ The flat sheet was bunched up and the fitted sheet was coming off the bed in one corner. A nightstand drawer was half open and her gun was on the floor beneath it.

"She almost got to her gun." Hanson peaked in the bathroom and then holstered his firearm. "How would she have dropped it?"

"She was drugged." Henry pointed to a syringe in the sheets. "I'll have the lab do an analysis on this."

"I'm calling it in."

Henry wandered around the room. It seemed like Adam had come into the room while Jo was asleep, drugged her during the struggle, and then left, taking her with him. _What was Adam going to do to her? Was Jo even alive? Where was she?_ Questions swirled in his mind. Henry walked into the bathroom. Nothing appeared to have been touched in here. He glanced in the trashcan and noticed another piece of paper inside. Taped to it were two fortune cookie papers.

Henry snatched the paper out of the trashcan. There was writing on this page too. Jo's fortune was on top and Adam had written, "I'm back" beneath it. Henry's fortune was taped beneath that. Adam had written, "You'd better come soon. Time is precious." There was a blank space beneath that followed by, "Come alone." Henry took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Adam was planning something and it couldn't be good.

Hanson poked his head in the door. "Crime scene will be here soon. Did you find something?"

Henry turned around, keeping the paper out of Hanson's view. "No, nothing."

* * *

 **A/N: The chopstick story was actually my own. The look on the teacher's face when I popped the tempura in my mouth still makes me chuckle to this day.**

 **Where is Jo? Stay tuned!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, WinnieKirk, superlc529, KenH, and SSTrans for their reviews. SSTrans:** Your comment made me laugh because that's what I'm going for. Adam is actually a fun character to write because he is so unlikable. I'm glad to see that my portrayal is keeping with his character. **KenH:** I think simple dates are sometimes the best. I tried to write fortunes that wouldn't foreshadow anything and could still be used both ways, but that was almost impossible. And yes, I know what's in store, but I'm not going to spoil anything (that wouldn't be fun :). **superlc529:** The date was fun to write. And thanks, I'm glad you liked the little story. This is not the end of the season yet; there are still two more cases and this case is set in early March. **WinnieKirk:** Thank you. I'm glad you're liking this story. **This chapter starts where the last one ended. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 36

Jo woke up in the dark. It took a couple minutes for her to remember what happened. The way she'd been sleeping gave her a couple clues. She was leaning against the wall... no, she was in a chair. Her hands were off to her left in a very uncomfortable position. She tried to sit up and rub her eyes, but she was stopped by the handcuffs on her wrists. She moved her hands around and realize that the handcuffs were around something. She was stuck.

A sudden, bright light blinded her. "Good morning, Detective. Did you sleep well?"

"I've been better." Jo straightened up as best she could. "What do you want with me?"

"You are a means to an end, Detective. What is Henry?"

"You know who Henry is. You're the one who was stalking him."

Adam shook his head. "I didn't ask who he is. I asked **what** he is."

"He's a medical examiner. My friend."

"You're either deliberately not giving me the right answer, or you really don't know."

Jo shook her head. "He's not immortal. I don't care that you have that delusion about yourself, but it's not possible."

"It is possible!" Adam took a deep breath. "You should have discovered that truth down in that ghost station. I killed Henry down there, and yet, he is still alive."

"What are you talking about?" Jo had no idea why Adam had abducted her for this conversation, but she wasn't about to give in.

Adam took another deep breath and let it out. "If you didn't see, if you don't know the truth, then you will soon enough."

"What are you going to do?"

Adam went to the door of Jo's room. "Henry will come. And then I will kill him. And if he brings anyone with him, I will kill them as well. Unlike Henry, anyone he brings won't be coming back to life."

* * *

 ** _England 1834..._**

 _Henry's life was finally getting better. After eighteen years of trying to rebuild, he was getting back on his feet. He'd even managed to get into a medical school. It wasn't the same caliber as the one he'd attended before he'd become immortal, but it was the only way back into the occupation he loved. He was currently at the top of his class, which would help him get a good position at a good hospital. He would be able to use that to rise higher in the world._

 _Henry was on his way home from his classes now. He was still living in relative squalor, though that was to ensure he could continue to pay for school. Henry walked by the docks, watching the workers struggle with the packages. The last time he'd been on a ship, it had been the Empress of Africa. He wasn't keen on traveling by boat just yet. He knew it was a stupid superstition, but he couldn't quite shake it yet._

" _Good night." Henry was struck from behind and knocked out. "Get 'em up. The captain's leaving at first light."_

 **Present day...**

Henry hadn't gone to precinct once the crime scene unit arrived. "Abraham! Do we have any lemon juice?!" He hurried down into his laboratory.

"I have a lemon. It's kind of old though. Why?" Abraham came downstairs.

"I need the juice from it." Henry was prepping some equipment.

Abraham grabbed a nearby knife and sliced lemon in half. "What's going on?"

"Adam left a note for me at Jo's house. He used the fortunes from the cookies we had last night. I think there's a hidden message in this blank space."

Abraham finished squeezing the lemon halves. "I see. What else do you need?"

"Nothing right now." Henry dipped a cotton swab in the lemon juice. "I hope this works."

Henry took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then lightly wiped the swab over the blank spot on the page. At first nothing happened, but Henry wasn't discouraged. He finished coating the page with lemon juice and then held the page above a candle. Several tense moments passed. Just before Henry was about to give up, letters began to appear. They were faint at first, but they quickly darkened until the message was easily legible.

Henry set the page down so he could read it. "Wheels roll over me, water flows under me. I was the first and now I am the one. What am I?"

"What does that mean?"

Henry thought about it. "I need to go to the George Washington Bridge."

"I'm coming too."

"Abraham, I'm supposed to go alone. I can't have anyone with me. Not even you."

"Pops..."

"No!" Henry sighed. "Look, I don't want to go without someone to back me up, but I can't risk Jo's life either."

Abraham nodded. "Okay, okay. Just... be careful. Okay?"

"I will." Henry blew out the candle. "Don't throw out the juice. I may need it later."

Henry arrived at the bridge and immediately started looking around. According to the note, Henry was looking for an ad or note on the bridge somewhere. He walked along the bridge, searching desperately for something that made sense. He was almost into New Jersey when a paper with a picture on it caught his eye. As he got closer, he realized that the picture was of Jo. She was laying on the floor, her hands cuffed, and it appeared she was asleep or dead.

He read the note out loud. "Don't worry, she's not dead, but she will be if you don't use your head. Why's a raven like a writing desk? I don't know, but this tea party is statuesque."

Henry traveled to the Alice in Wonderland statue and found the next note on a trash can. In this picture, Jo was awake. He was glad to see that she didn't appear to be afraid. This note had been title, "Have You Seen Me?" Nothing else was written on the paper. Henry hailed a cab and headed back to the antique shop. He was hoping to get another hidden message that would lead him to Jo or the next clue. He didn't expect what was waiting for him at home.

Hanson stepped out of his car. "Henry, we need to talk. I know you found something at Jo's house. What was it?"

* * *

 **Earlier...**

Hanson returned to the precinct and reported to Lieutenant Reece. "She was taken, Lou. And Henry's stalker is the one who did it."

Reece leaned back in her chair. "He made quick work of escaping and getting to her house. Wasn't he transferred to Attica?"

"He was, but he'd been brought back to Rikers so he'd be close for his preliminary hearings this week."

"What happened at the crime scene?"

"When we arrived, Henry found a note addressed to him." Hanson handed her the note. "'Adam' thinks this is all a game. And Jo's being dragged into it."

"Why is he involving her?"

"Henry and Jo are dating. Maybe 'Adam' feels that she is getting in the way."

"Speaking of Doctor Morgan, where is he?"

"I... don't know. Abraham left when the crime scene unit arrived. Maybe Henry forgot something in the car and had to go get it?"

"Well, figure out where he is and get him back here. I don't want to lose him too."

"Copy that." Hanson went back to his desk and called the antique store.

Abraham answered. " _Hello?_ "

"Abraham, it's Hanson. I'm looking for Henry."

" _Oh, he just stepped out_."

"Where was he headed?"

Abraham paused. " _I'm... not sure_."

"Abraham, if he's trying to find Jo on his own, he could get himself killed. Jo was taken by a very dangerous man. Do you want him to get killed because you hid something from me?"

Abraham sighed. " _I can't_."

"Did Adam leave a second note?"

" _There was a note. But it said that if Henry didn't go alone, Jo would be killed. I'm trying to help prevent her death_."

"Even if it gets Henry killed?"

Abraham took a long breath. " _If it saves her life, Henry would give his without a second thought. I'm sorry, Detective. I won't betray Henry_."

Hanson set his phone back in the cradle. "I'll find him myself." He went into the tech center. "I need to find Henry Morgan."

"Phone number?"

"He doesn't have one." The analyst looked up at Hanson with a strange look on his face. "Yeah, he's a bit weird. All I know is that he started at Abe's Antiques on Suffolk and Stanton."

The tech went back two hours and started playing the footage back at double speed. Just 20 minutes in, Henry hurried into the shop. 10 minutes later, he hurried out and hailed a cab. The tech snagged the cab number and used that to track the cab to the George Washington Bridge. Henry got out of the cab and walked down the bridge until he had almost crossed into New Jersey before he stopped and grabbed something from the barrier.

It looked to be a paper. Whatever was written on it had Henry rushing back to the cab. This time they caught up to the cab in real time as it left Central Park. Hanson had the tech go back when he saw that the cab was empty. The analyst complied and they found Henry as he got out of the cab and entered the park just a few minutes earlier. Not long after Henry walked out of the camera's view, the cab pulled away. Hanson rocked back on his heels and thought.

"Okay, keep searching for him. I'm going to his house. Let me know when you find him and where he is." Hanson left the precinct.

Half an hour later, Hanson's car was parked in front of Abe's Antiques. The analysts had called and let him know that Henry had gotten into another cab. The next call said the trajectory was roughly in the direction of the shop. Hanson had decided to stay at store and was now sitting outside, wondering if he should go in and talk to Abraham or wait for Henry out here. Just as Hanson decided to talk to Abraham, Henry's cab pulled up.

Hanson stepped out of his car. "Henry we need to talk. I know you found something at Jo's house. What was it?"

Henry walked up to the detective. "I can't talk about that."

"Henry, Jo's life is in danger. **Your** stalker has her."

"You think I don't know that?" Henry sighed to calm himself. "That's why I'm doing this alone."

"Show it to me."

Henry led Hanson inside and down to his laboratory. "I'll show you the first note. But you have to understand, I know how dangerous Adam is." He handed Hanson the note.

"Are these fortune cookie papers?"

"Yes. Jo and I had Chinese food last night. Those are the fortunes that we had."

Hanson did a double-take. "He used your fortunes to write a message. So what you're saying is: he's back, there isn't much time, he wants you to go alone, and you're just going to play right into his hands?."

"If I don't, he will kill her. Detective, I can't have you following me or going with me. If he finds out I'm not playing his game by his rules, he will kill her. I can't let that happen."

"Even if it gets you killed?"

"My life doesn't matter!" Henry took a deep breath. "My life doesn't matter. I'm trying to save Jo. Please, let me."

"How am I going to help?"

"I don't know."

"Henry..."

"Detective, I need to follow Adam's trail. Perhaps you should follow the forensic evidence."

Hanson sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, Henry."

"So do I."

Hanson left and Henry finally got to work on the note he found at the statue. Abraham had covered the lemon juice, so Henry took off the plastic and dipped a new cotton swab in the juice. He rubbed it on the note and then held it above a flame to reveal the hidden message. Once again, a riddle was revealed.

Where this goes up just to fall

And never bounce up again

People can stand four stories tall

Or celebrate inside a pen.

Henry figured out that he was to go to Times Square. He was starting to get tired of these riddles, but he had to find Jo. Henry looked at the picture on the note. _I'm coming for you, Jo. Hang in there._

* * *

 **A/N: For those of you wondering, the crime of kidnapping someone to work on a ship was called shanghaiing.**


	37. Chapter 37

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, foreverHenry919, superlc529, KenH and SSTrans for their reviews. SSTrans:** Riddles are surprisingly hard to write. I tried to find a riddle generator, but none would allow me to input enough information. Adam does like watching Henry squirm and Henry is willing to for Jo. **KenH:** Hanson won't be following Henry, he'll listen to Henry's suggestion and follow the evidence. **superlc529:** I guess Adam is being the Riddler a bit. The flashbacks were fun to write; I didn't know much about shanghaiing so it was interesting doing the research on that. I'm glad you like the flashbacks. **foreverHenry919:** No jumping overboard, I'm afraid. Henry wouldn't want to risk the crew finding out about his immortality. National Treasure is a favorite of mine as well; I wondered who might catch on to that reference. **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 37

Jo had been searching the room for something that would get her out of the handcuffs since Adam had left. She found a nail on the floor, but she couldn't get it to her hands. Adam had constructed her prison well. Jo's hands were stuck three feet off the floor. Her handcuffs were thread through a simple piping construction made of big, metal parts. The long sides of the loop portion, which made an elongated oval shape, were too close together to put her hands through to the same side of the structure, but the pipes were also too thick for her to reach around them, so even if she had the nail in her hand, she would have a hard time trying to use it.

Jo tried again. "Come on." She'd gotten out of the chair and was leaning as far away from the structure as she could, but she still wasn't flexible enough to get her foot up to her hands. "Guess I should have done gymnastics when I was younger."

"You won't get free." Adam walked back in. "I learned a lot at Auschwitz. Mengele used to keep me chained up this way when he wasn't busy killing me."

"Assuming what you're saying is true, why are you telling me about this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Let's assume, hypothetically, that you are immortal. Why are you telling me about any of this? Are you planning to kill me?"

Adam took her chair and sat in it. "You work with a man who is immortal, and he hasn't seen fit to tell you about it. You should know what he will be capable of. What he is. Why he doesn't have a self-preservation instinct. I'd hoped you would have found out the truth almost a year ago when I killed him down in the subway station."

"But why tell **me** about you?"

"So that you can see what he will become. I used to be a good man. Like Henry, even. But I've been alive for two thousand years. It changes people. It'll change him too. He's only been on this planet for a couple hundred years. But he has time to change."

"He won't." Jo hated how she had to sit on the floor when she was trying to defend her friend.

"I never thought I would either. But two thousand years is a long time." Adam knelt so he was in Jo's face. "I can force him to change."

"He won't."

"We'll see." Adam stood up. "So far, Henry is following my instructions. I hope your partner doesn't interfere."

"And if he does?"

"If he does, you'd better hope you both are immortal."

* * *

 _ **Atlantic Ocean 1834…**_

 _Henry woke with a pain in his head and nausea in his gut. The floor he was on swayed and creaked. He'd felt that kind of movement before. He was on a ship that was already at sea. He tried to calm his pounding heart by breathing deeply. It only seemed to make his nausea worse. Henry finally opened his eyes. He was in a cell surrounded by ten other men in various stages of alertness. One had already vomited on himself. At least some of the smell was explained._

 _A man walked up to the cells bars and banged on them. "Wake up! On yer feet!"_

 _Henry approached the bars. "Sir, what is this?"_

 _The man looked at him curiously. "You have good manners. Better than the way you're dressed. What's yer name?"_

" _Henry Morgan, sir. I'm studying to be a doctor."_

" _Not anymore." The man turned to the rest of the cell's inhabitants. "Welcome to yer new life, gentleman. I am the ship's captain and you are now all members of my crew."_

 _One of Henry's cellmates clutched at the bars. "No, I can't. My wife just had a baby. I need to go home. She needs me!"_

" _She'll find something to do until you get back."_

" _But, sir!"_

" _Silence!" The captain stared everyone down. "This ship is headed to China. You will work on my ship on the way there. If you want to return to England, then you will do the same to earn passage back. When we return, you will be free to go yer way or sign on for another voyage."_

 _The men around Henry groaned. A couple put their heads in their hands and sat down again. "Some rules. You will address me as Captain or Sir at all times. If you steal, you'll lose a few fingers. Do it again and you'll lose your life. Disrespect any member of my crew, the same applies. Try to escape and you'll be flogged before you're tied to the mast to die of exposure."_

 _"How long will we be gone?"_

 _"What was that?"_

 _"How long will we be gone?... Sir."_

" _That depends on the weather." The captain turned to Henry. "You said you're a doctor?"_

" _Studying to be, yes, sir."_

 _The captain unlocked the door to let Henry out. "I've got a man who needs tending to. You'll look at him?"_

" _Yes, sir."_

" _Make me happy and you won't be spending nights in that cage."_

* * *

 **Present day…**

Hanson returned to the precinct and went straight to the Lieutenant's office. "Henry won't be helping us on this one."

"Why not?"

"His stalker is leaving notes for Henry to find that might lead him to Jo. The first note said that if he didn't come alone, Jo would be killed."

"Does he not trust is?"

Hanson sat across from Reece. "I don't think this is a lack of trust. This is more like he doesn't want to risk 'Adam' killing Jo."

Reece leaned back to think. "What do you want to do?"

"I think we follow the forensics and hope we can find her before Henry does."

"Go. Park yourself in the lab if you have to. I'll continue to direct the manhunt."

"Copy that."

Hanson went downstairs and checked in with the lab about the evidence collected from the crime scene. A criminalist by the name of Messer told him that not much had been left behind. "Adam" had not left DNA or fingerprints at the scene. In fact, the only evidence that he had been there was the note Henry had found on the banister. Hanson asked several questions, but Messer had nothing much to offer him.

Hanson went to the morgue next to find Lucas, but the assistant M.E. wasn't there. "Anyone know where I can find Dr. Wahl?"

One of the other assistant M.E.'s looked up. "I think he went to your crime scene."

"Thanks."

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Lucas had been frustrated by the lack of much evidence to work with, so he went back to Jo's house. The uniform stationed there had been reluctant to let him in, but had eventually caved. Lucas now stood in Jo's bedroom looking over what was left of the scene. The sheets had been stripped from the bed and several surfaces of the room had been dusted for prints. Lucas stepped to the middle of the room and tried to get in the kidnapper's mind. All he knew for sure was that this man was obsessed with Henry. It wasn't much to go on.

Hanson walked in. "Find anything?"

"No. I'm not Henry, though." Lucas looked around. "You were here first. What am I missing?"

Hanson held out a photo. "This is what it looked like when Henry and I got here. We figure she was drugged before she could shoot him."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Lucas held up the photo. "You know, there is something we can look for."

"What?"

"He had to get her away from here somehow." Lucas headed downstairs. "He had to have a car."

Hanson followed him outside. "We should look for cameras facing the street."

A man came out of his house and waved then down. "You guys are cops, right?"

Hanson took his badge off his belt and held it up. "Yeah, I am. We spoke earlier."

"That was before I'd looked at my home security footage. My cameras don't face the house, but I think the person who took her was parked in front of my house. Follow me."

Hanson and Lucas followed the man into his house. "So your cameras did get something?"

"Like I said earlier, I hadn't looked at the footage yet. You gave me your card and asked me to call when I had. I was about to call you when you came out of the house." He pulled up the video. "Here, take a look."

The man hit play and the video's time stamp started rolling. A car pulled into the space in front of the man's house. "Adam" was behind the wheel. The man, whose name was Justin if Hanson remembered it correctly, sped up the playback until two hours had passed. "Adam" finally got out of the car and walked out of frame. Justin sped up the video again until Adam walked back into frame with Jo over his shoulder. He put her in the trunk and then pulled away from the curb.

"Pause it." Hanson wrote down the license plate number. "Can we get a copy of this?"

"Sure." Justin burned the video onto a disc. "Here."

"Thanks." Hanson left the man's house and used his phone to look up the license number. "The car was a rental. You coming?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah."

* * *

"Yes, detective, that car was returned this morning."

"Okay, we're going to need to see that car."

The managed looked up. "May I enquire as to why?"

"We believe it was involved in an abduction. Have you cleaned it today?"

"Not yet. I'll tell them not to."

Hanson nodded. "I'd appreciate that."

"Okay, I'll take you to the car." The manager led them to the Honda Accord. "I'll leave the keys with you. Just… make sure you have a warrant before you take the car."

"Like this one?" Hanson handed him the warrant.

The manager looked at it. "Yes, like that one. I'll leave you to it." He walked away.

"Alright, Lucas. The car's yours."

Lucas started by taking pictures of the car, inside and out, and then he took a closer look at the trunk. He collected a few swabs, but there didn't appear to be any DNA. There was a sticky spot though. He collected the sample and turned his attention to the rest of the car. Some dirt on the exterior was collected before Lucas looked at the tires. Three of them were mostly devoid of everything but dirt. The last one had some kind of plant life on it.

"I got something." Lucas held it up. "I haven't seen this in New York much. Some kind of plant life; maybe from the conservation efforts? I think Henry said this kind of grass is usually found on the East side of the East River."

"So that's where Adam took Jo?"

"Maybe. I'll need to take this back to the lab to narrow it down."

"We're running out of time, Lucas."

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm not Henry!" Lucas sighed and put the plant in a jar. "Between the dirt and the plant, we should be able to narrow down where to look."

* * *

Lucas took nearly an hour to analyze the plant and the dirt. Hanson had no idea what he was doing, but it looked like Henry's assistant did. When Lucas was done running the tests, he spent some more time cross referencing what all the data meant. Hanson was getting anxious. Time wasn't on their side. Henry was on a treasure hunt that would (maybe) lead him to the right place. Hanson wanted to get there first.

"I think I got it." Lucas beckoned for Hanson to join him. "From the grass and the composition of the dirt, Detective Martinez is being held here." He pointed to a spot on the map.

"That's still a lot of ground to cover."

"It's less than all of New York City."

"True. Thanks, Lucas." Hanson put his phone to his eat as he left the morgue. "Lou, Dr. Wahl was able to narrow down the search area…"

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Henry found the last note and got an address. Adam must have been setting this up all morning, possibly throughout the day. He'd thought this through too. With the exception of this one, all the notes had a riddle on it that would lead Henry to the next clue. The ones Adam had used invisible ink on were in very public places. The ones he could read right away were not. Henry was just glad that the search was finally over.

He got into a cab and told the driver where to go. It was time to save Jo.

* * *

 **A/N: Partnering Hanson and Lucas in this chapter was an interesting dynamic to write. What's going to happen next? Stay tuned to find out.**


	38. Chapter 38

**Author's Note: I'd like to thank KenH for his review. KenH:** All will be revealed in this chapter. **There are two flashbacks in this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 38

 _ **Indian Ocean, 1834…**_

 _True to his word, the captain had let Henry select one of the open bunks after he had tended to the sick crewman. The others who had been snatched had to earn their right to a bunk and they had slowly been allowed out of the cage. Most of the time, Henry found himself looking at the small cuts, abrasion, and occasional broken bones of the men. When there wasn't anything for him to do medically, the captain had him looking after the food._

 _They had been at sea for several weeks at this point. "Captain, how much longer before we reach our destination?"_

" _That all depends on the weather." The captain looked up from his map. "But we should be in Canton in a couple weeks. Why? Are we running low on something?"_

" _No, sir. Most of the food is in good supply. I was simply curious."_

" _I take it you've never been to China before."_

" _I have not."_

 _The captain smiled. "Where we're going is a den of sin and debauchery. Yer fancy schooling will be very out of place there."_

" _How so?"_

" _Let's say that the slums of London will seem like the Queen's palace after you've been in Canton for a day."_

 _Henry took his leave of the Captain and returned to the galley to help the "chef" with the next meal. Henry had been raised with the gentry, always a member of the wealthy class. After Nora's betrayal, he'd lived in the slums, stealing food and trying to find somewhere dry to sleep. If Canton was an awful place to live, why did people live there? Why conduct trade there? He shook his head. There was no use wondering about things now. He'd see the place soon enough._

 **Present day…**

Jo stood up to get feeling back in her arms. While she was standing, she managed to get the nail to balance in the space her handcuffs were thread through. When she sat down again, she tried to use it to pick the lock on her handcuffs. It took several tries to get the point of the nail into the key hole. She'd even stabbed herself trying to blindly find the right spot. After trying to get the cuffs open for twenty minutes, Jo thought she was getting close. Until the nail dropped from her hand and bounced away.

"Damn it."

"You wouldn't have gotten away." Adam had somehow entered the room without her hearing him.

"You seem pretty sure of that." Jo turned around so she was facing him.

"The door is locked from the outside and I'm the only one with the key." Adam held up the Polaroid camera. "One more picture."

"Are these for your scrapbook?" Jo blinked when the flash went off.

"No, these are for Henry. I've been leaving them around the city, leading him from one place to another until he gets here to you. Think of it as… proof of life." He headed for the door, but stopped when his pocket buzzed. "Someone tripped the silent alarm."

"Who?"

Adam grinned as he looked at the security footage. "Henry. And he's alone." He taped the photo to the door. "Not a word, Detective."

* * *

 **Minutes earlier…**

Henry got out of the cab at the gate to the warehouse facility and slowly walked inside. There were a lot of buildings here. Plenty of places to hide someone without anyone knowing about it. He wondered if he should call Detective Hanson, but he had no phone so that wasn't really an option. Henry double checked the note for the millionth time for the warehouse number. _This way._ He turned left and started walking.

When he got to the right building, he tried the door and found it was open. His heart was pounding in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins. _Jo is supposed to be here_. He might be able to get her out, or he was about to see her die. Or she was going to see him die again. As long as Adam let her go, dying would be worth it. His footsteps echoed down the hall. He almost walked right by the door when he noticed the picture taped to it.

Under the picture was a key, which Henry used to unlock the door. "Jo?"

"Henry? Henry, it's a trap!"

Henry opened the door. "Jo, where is he?"

"Behind you!"

"Umph!" Henry grunted as he was hit from behind and fell to the floor.

"Henry!" Jo was frantic, but Henry had to tune her out as his attention was focused on Adam.

Adam shut the door behind him. "Hello, Henry. I was surprised to find out that your partner missed your disappearance last year." He stabbed Henry in the stomach as the doctor stood up. "She won't miss this one."

Henry groaned in pain. "Why are you doing this?" He could still hear Jo, but everything was getting foggy as the pain clouded his mind.

"I already told you; I plan to make your life a living hell. You should have kept me out of prison, out of the system. Now you'll have to run too. Just like me." Adam twisted the knife and Henry collapsed as he passed out.

 _ **Canton, 1834…**_

 _Canton, called Guangzhou by the locals, was densely populated down at the docks where foreigners were confined, but it looked like the city was just as populated. Henry had not expected to see the western style architecture along the waterfront, but it made sense; the countries that came here to trade would have needed to build their own headquarters. The flags of all the different nations marked which buildings belonged to which nation. When Henry stepped onto the dock, he was stunned by the sights and sounds of such a foreign place._

 _One of the sailors approached Henry. "Need a guide?"_

" _I think I can manage." Henry looked around and noticed a sign on a nearby building that read, "Doctor needed." He pointed to the sign. "When I'm released from duty, I'll inquire over there."_

 _The sailor read the sign. "You want to stay here?"_

 _Henry nodded. "For a time. I've always been a curious man. I'd like to stay and learn what this culture has to offer."_

 _The sailor shook his head as he walked away. "You're a strange man, Doc."_

* * *

 **Seconds earlier…**

Henry opened the door. "Jo, where is he?"

Jo was happy to see Henry, but horrified to see Adam standing right behind him. "Behind you!" Adam swung a board into Henry's upper back and knocked him to the ground. "Henry!"

Adam shut the door behind him. "Hello, Henry. I was surprised to find out that your partner missed your disappearance last year." Henry was just standing up when Adam thrust a knife into his stomach. "She won't miss this one."

Henry groaned in pain. "Why are you doing this?"

Jo was pulling on her restraints, trying to break them or slip her hands out. "Henry, stay with me!"

"I already told you; I plan to make your life a living hell. You should have kept me out of prison, out of the system. Now you'll have to run too. Just like me." Adam twisted the knife.

"Henry!" Jo's wrists, which had only been chafed before, were now bleeding. "Henry, talk to me!" Henry fell and passed out. "Henry!"

Adam pulled the knife from Henry's body. "He's only got a few moments left. Are you ready?"

Jo was crying. "Henry!" Part of her was surprised that she was so emotional. She'd seen Henry die before. But Adam was trying to find a way to end his "curse," so his involvement tonight was a terrifying thing. "Henry, come on! Wake up!"

Henry exhaled for the last time and then his body vanished. Jo jumped back, half to fool Adam and half because it was still so strange to watch. Adam smiled at the shock on her face and, without a word, tossed the keys to her handcuffs in her general direction before walking out of the room. Jo took a few deep breaths and then started trying to get the key off the floor. They were just out of her reach. Just before she gave up, Hanson and several uniforms burst into the room.

"He took Henry. Adam just took him!" Jo stopped struggling when Hanson snatched up the key. "They left a couple minutes ago."

"Are you all right?"

"No! That psychopath has Henry!"

Hanson unlocked the handcuffs. "Jo, stop. You're bleeding."

"We have to stop Adam!" Jo stood up and rushed out the door.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Henry's head broke through the water and he sucked in a deep breath. _Jo! Adam killed me without releasing her._ Henry swam for the buoy and then dove down to retrieve his clothing stash. He was worried about Jo, but he had to get dressed before he could go looking for her. He reached the bank of the river and toweled off before getting dressed. Right as he finished, he heard Jo shouting his name. Henry shoved his bag under a bush and then jumped back into the river.

"Henry!"

"I'm here!" He waded out of the river.

"Oh, thank God." She ran to him. "When Adam took you, I thought…"

Henry quickly figured out the scenario that Jo was giving him. "I'm all right. I… managed to escape."

Jo stepped back. "Why were you in the river?"

"That's the only place I could go to get away." He looked at her wrists. "You're bleeding."

Hanson handed Henry a first aid kit. "One of the uni's grabbed this from their car."

"Thank you." Henry say on a nearby bench so he could tend to Jo's wrists. "I can bandage your wounds, but you should still get them looked at. You don't want to get an infection."

"Okay."

Henry cleaned and wrapped up Jo's wrists. At some point a blanket had been draped over Henry's shoulders and an ambulance arrived to take Henry and Jo to the hospital. Henry sent a text to Abe from the paramedic's phone. Jo pretended to send a text too, but actually, she was making sure to erase the text Henry had sent. Now Abe knew Henry and Jo were safe and that he needed to retrieve the bag his father had stashed. Jo handed the phone back and leaned her head on Henry's shoulder.

"The blanket's wet."

"At least it's warm in here." Henry kissed the top of his head. "Are you okay?"

"I am now."

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Adam had concealed himself near where Henry would surface and watched what happened. Detective Martinez, followed by the others, had arrived at the river a little too quickly for her to have not known ahead of time. _She's good_. He had bought her act, but that's all it had been. She should have been shocked to see Henry walking around uninjured, but not only had she been fine with it, she had come up with a lie to explain how Henry had ended up there.

"If threatening those you love won't change you, Henry, then maybe I'll have to change how I play the game."

* * *

 **Later…**

Jo was being kept in the hospital for observation. Adam hadn't fed her at all, so she'd been exhausted and starving when the ambulance arrived at the hospital. They'd hooked her up to fluids, checked and re-wrapped her wrists, and brought her some food before she passed out for the night. Henry was given a checkup, but other than being wet, he was fine. Abe brought his father some dry clothes and Henry fell asleep in Jo's room, holding her hand.

In the middle of the night, Jo startled awake. "Ah!"

"Jo?" Henry woke up.

The rapid beating of the machines brought Jo back to where she was. "Bad dream. It was nothing."

"You're sure?" Henry sat on the side of her bed.

"No." She sighed. "I dreamed Adam was here, in my bedroom taking me again."

"He can't get to you in here. Two uniforms are outside. He won't get past them."

"I know." She lay back down. "You're not leaving, right?"

"No, I'm not leaving."

Jo scooted over and pat the spot next to her. "No need for you to be uncomfortable."

Henry smiled and lay down, pulling her into his arms. "If you insist, my Lady."

Jo laughed and they fell asleep with Jo's head on Henry's shoulder, an arm draped across his chest. When her doctor came in to check on her in the morning, Henry slipped out of the bed and left to search for his breakfast. By the time he came back to the room with his food and coffee, Jo was awake and eating what had been brought to her. She smiled when he walked in and they ate in silence, comfortable just to be together.

Hanson looked exhausted when he came in. "Morning, you two. Get a good night's sleep?"

"Looks like you didn't." Jo handed him her juice.

"Thanks." Hanson gulped it down. "I was out with the search parties all night. We couldn't find him. An APB is out on him, but if he's smart, he'll be in Canada by now."

"Border's been notified?"

"Yeah, but the Canadian border's not as tight as the one for Mexico. There are ways."

Henry shook his head. "He won't go to Canada."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not there. He'll stick around, but he'll be laying low, waiting for a chance to strike."

"I hope you're wrong, Doc."

"So do I. But the fact remains that he is obsessed with me. He'll be back."

"Then we'll be ready for him." Hanson set the glass on Jo's tray table. "Thanks for the juice. I'm heading home to get some rest."

"See ya." Jo waited until Hanson was out the door. "Will we be ready?"

"We're talking about a man with two thousand years of experience. There's no way to prepare for that."

* * *

 **A/N: The next case is typed up, so there should just be a week off before I begin posting it. Stay tuned!**


	39. Chapter 39

**Author's Note: I am so sorry for the delay. I did not intend to take so long to post, but I've been busy the last two weeks. My grandmother passed away and I was changing jobs during that time, so it's been an emotional and stressful couple of weeks. I'd like to thank phnxgrl, superlc529, soubi12, KenH, a Guest, foreverHenry919, and scorpio38457 for their reviews. For those that had missed the notification when chapter 37 was posted, there was a weird moment that happened when I posted the chapter, so I think this site had a problem that prevented people from catching the update. superlc529:** I am toying with several ideas for where Adam's story will go. At the moment, I haven't decided yet. I actually have the scene where Hanson finds out about Henry's secret in my head, but I'm not telling when that happens :). **soubi12:** You're comment made me laugh. That might be a fun thing to write... **KenH:** We shall see what Adam is up to soon. **Guest:** Don't worry about it; I figured it must have been a technical difficulty. **foreverHenry919:** That's the idea (evil laughter). **scorpio38457:** Thank you! **Here's the start of the new case. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 39

Tonight felt good. The crisp, cool air, the clear sky, the handful of stars that were actually visible; they all seemed to be celebrating with her. Marta Giuseppe almost skipped down the street toward her hotel, but a scream made her stop in her tracks. She looked around and saw an alley to her left. She heard another scream and ran down the alley toward the sound. That's when she saw a terrified woman facing a man who was demanding the woman's purse.

Marta reached out to grab the man's arm. "Leave her alone!"

The man quickly turned around and Marta felt the knife in his hand slide easily into her body. She gasped as the pain raised in intensity until she found herself laying on the ground, not quite sure how she got there. The woman she'd tried to save screamed again and the man ran passed Marta. She still had the knife sticking out of her chest. She couldn't breathe. Marta closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on breathing. She heard footsteps running by her, but she couldn't remember who it might be. _I'm so tired…_

* * *

Henry came out to the kitchen to find Abe already eating. "Did I sleep in?"

"No, no. I'm taking Fawn out for the day. And her grandson will be with us. We're going to the zoo. Sounds like fun, right?"

Henry smiled and put some bread in the toaster. "It should be a wonderful outing."

"Hey, you should join us. I can introduce you as my son." Abe grinned.

Henry chuckled. "Much as I would like to, I don't think I'll be able to join you. I do have work, you know."

"Come on, you can play hooky today."

The phone rang. "Duty calls." Henry answered the phone. "Hello?"

" _Hey, Henry. We've got a body._ " Jo rattled off the address.

"I'll be there soon." He hung up the phone. "I'm off. Enjoy your outing."

"Yeah, yeah." The toast popped up. "Hey, don't forget your breakfast."

* * *

Henry got out of the cab and headed for the alley where police were milling around. "Good morning, Detective."

"Morning, Henry." Jo gestured to the victim. "What do you make of this?"

Henry pulled on a pair of gloves and knelt to get a better look at the victim. She was covered in bruises, but the C.O.D was clearly the knife sticking out of her chest. The blood pool under her was relativity small though, so if she had bled out, she had done so internally. The bruises were inflicted only a few hours before her death; it seemed that the killer had beaten her before he'd killed her. It was a horrible way to go. Henry quickly checked her pockets, but found nothing.

Henry stood up. "No I.D. Weapon of death is fairly obvious, but I'll have to perform the autopsy to know the cause."

"The knife sticking out of her chest isn't the cause of death?" Hanson had arrived.

"I can think of three causes of death related to this injury. Exsanguination, suffocation, and drowning all come to mind."

"Drowning?"

"Yes."

"How can you drown from being stabbed?"

"If the knife punctured a lung, and that lung filled up with blood, technically that is drowning." Henry stood up. "She was also beaten before she died."

Lucas walked into the crime scene with a camera in his hands. "Whoa. That's what MMA fighters look like after a match?"

"What kind of fighter?"

Lucas looked at Henry in surprise. "Seriously? MMA. Mixed Martial Arts? This woman's face has been all over the city. Marta Giuseppe. There was a fight last night. I think she won."

Hanson turned to Lucas. "I didn't know you were into MMA."

"I'm… not. Not really. I mean, yeah, a little. Anyway, her victory was in the news last night."

"And you're certain that this woman was Marta Giuseppe?" Henry looked at the victim. "If she was a fighter, that would explain most of these injuries."

Jo held out her phone. "You can use this photo for a comparison."

Henry held the phone near the victim's face. "Yes, I'd say this is the same woman in the photograph."

"So now we have an I.D." Hanson wrote her name down. "I'll run it and see if we can figure out who to talk to regarding her last week."

"I'll get her back to the morgue; I'll need to separate which wounds were from her fight and which ones were from the attack. Lucas?"

Lucas quickly looked up from the victim. "Yeah?"

"The camera won't take pictures on its own."

"Right. Sorry, Doc." Lucas started documenting the body.

Hanson showed Jo his phone. "What do you think? Start with the coach?"

Jo nodded. "He would probably know the most. Let's go."

* * *

"Come on! Keep your guard up!" Coach Charles Grayson was yelling at one of the fighters in the ring. "Protect your head!"

"Coach Grayson?"

"That's me." He didn't glance away from the sparring. "Come on! Don't leave yourself open! He'll get you off balance!"

Hanson held up his badge. "Coach Grayson, we need to talk to you."

Grayson looked at the detectives. "What's this about?"

Jo glanced at the ring. "We should talk in private."

"Take a break, guys." Grayson led them to his office. "So, what's so important that you had to tear me away from a training session?"

"You were Marta Giuseppe's coach?"

"Yeah, I am. She's late for a checkup. What happened?"

"She was killed sometime last night. We're trying to put together a timeline and we're hoping you could help."

Grayson leaned against his desk. "Damn. Uh, she left the Garden around eleven last night. The night started at 6:30 and Marta's fight was the last one of the night. How far back do I need to go?"

"Yesterday's good for now."

"Workout was at ten sharp. We went for a couple hours, broke for a cool down and lunch, and then she had a couple hours free until she had to be at the Garden. The official weigh-in was the night before, but there was another just before the fight."

Hanson looked up. "Why?"

"Couple months back, a fighter was trying to move up weight classes. He put on a lot of water weight. At the fight the next day, he got destroyed." Grayson chuckled. "The UFC just wants to make sure it doesn't happen again. The second weigh-in isn't formal. Just a way to check that the fighter is at least close to their weight class day of."

"Can you think of anyone who wanted to hurt Marta?"

"That depends. How'd she die?"

"She was stabbed."

"Ambushed?"

Jo nodded. "We believe so."

Grayson scoffed. "Yeah, I figured as much. If the fight had been fair, Marta never would have let a knife touch her. She was too fast. You're looking for Gilberto Salvonarola. He's the MMA bookie around here. And he likes to fix fights."

Hanson wrote the name down. "And why would we be looking for him? There are a lot of bookies in town."

"Last I heard, he was trying to get Marta to take a dive." Grayson shook his head. "Marta would never lose on purpose and Gilberto… he doesn't like being… ignored."

* * *

 _ **London 1794…**_

 _Henry liked school. He enjoyed learning. His peers were all from wealthy families too, but they didn't apply themselves the same way Henry did. Most of them would be apprenticed to their father's businesses soon, so they simply assumed they didn't need the high-quality education the school provided. The only class most of them seemed to enjoy was Kinesiology. The instructor had focused on cricket earlier in the school year, but now they were learning about the sport of boxing._

 _Today the instructor had paired Henry with Charles Leed. "Morgan, Leed, are you ready?" Both boys nodded. "Ready… and… fight!"_

 _Henry held his hands at the ready and approached his opponent. The two circled each other, cautiously jabbing at their opponent, testing the other's defenses. Suddenly, before Henry could react, Leed punched him. Two more quickly followed the first and Henry stumbled back. As Leed approached again, Henry cocked back his arm and let a punch fly. It connected with Leed's face and his opponent stumbled back as Henry fell, clutching his hand._

 _The instructor rushed to Henry's side. "Hold! Morgan, what happened?" He examined Henry's hand. "You broke the_ _metacarpal_ _of your ring finger. Let's get you to the infirmary." He helped Henry up. "Keep sparring until I get back."_

 _They walked out of the room. "What did I do wrong, sir?"_

" _You didn't close your hand correctly. You need to connect with your first and second knuckles. Those bones are stronger. Prevents a boxer's break. You'll want to keep that in mind, Henry. It'll serve you well down the road."_

* * *

 **Present day…**

Henry and Lucas stood on opposite sides of the table. "What do you see?"

Lucas looked at the victim. "Multiple contusions, abrasions on her knees and the posterior of her shoulders, and a laceration above her left eye. All injuries are consistent with an organized fight. Bruising on her shins rules out sports like boxing and most forms of wrestling. Her muscle tone and the tan lines on her hands point to Mixed Martial Arts as her chosen profession."

"And how did it feel to use observation as the means to identify what she does with her life?"

"Pretty good, actually. Although I'm not sure what good that does for us. And I did know who she was before we began."

"True, but imagine you had no idea what this woman's name was. How might you find it? DNA and fingerprinting are all well and good, but what if she's not in the system? How could you find it then?" Henry moved over to a different body. "Tell me where to look to find out his name was."

Lucas looked at the body for a long time. "I've got nothing."

"Work it out. Talk through it."

Lucas turned back to the body. "He's… got… he's got a rash on his forearm. If we swab it, we can figure out what caused it. He was found in the Hudson though, so the rash may have come from the river. No, wait, histologic reactions only occur when you're still living."

"What else?"

"Look, Doc, I don't know. I'm trying, but I'm not you."

"Your instinct was right with the rash. It's contact dermatitis. Now, he could have picked it up anywhere, but from the looks of his skin's underlaying texture, he gets this rash a lot. That means he works or lives where the inflammatory substance is located. What else can you see?"

"Jo's here." Lucas turned to the detective. "Thank God you're here."

"What's going on?" Jo looked between the two.

"I was testing Lucas' eye. He's getting better, but it still needs some work." Henry stood beside the table Marta Giuseppe's body was on. "How can I help you?"

"You can tell me if her death was an ambush by an angry bookie or something else."

"Well, I can't definitively say the killer was a bookmaker, but I can say that there was only one stab wound. While most of her injuries are from the fight earlier in the evening, it would still be difficult to separate the bruising of a sanctioned fight from that of a beating, so I'm afraid I can't help you."

"That's it?"

"No. Marta had situs inversus."

Lucas interrupted. "Her organs were flipped."

Jo raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"The placement of her organs was on the opposite side of her body from where they should have been. Normally, the human heart is on the left. Marta's heart was on the right. Situs inversus."

"So what's the cause of death?"

"The knife pierced Marta's heart sac, causing her to bleed out internally."

Jo nodded. "Okay, well, I have to go talk to a bookie who was trying to get Marta to take a dive. Want to come with me when I do?"

"Let me get my coat." Henry went to his office.

Lucas looked at the body Henry had been testing him with. "Do you know anything about that victim?"

"Yep."

"Will you tell me?"

"Nope."

Henry came out of his office while trying his scarf. "Shall we?"

"Let's go."

"Oh, Lucas, I'll be expecting you to let me know how we find this man's name when I get back."

Lucas' shoulders drooped. "But I don't know where to look!"

"You'll figure it out." Henry held open the morgue door for Jo and they both walked out.

"I can figure it out. I can figure this out." Lucas returned to the body. "Okay… where do I start?"

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	40. Chapter 40

**Author's Note: I'm sorry for the late posting. The internet was down here for a couple days, so I couldn't post on time. I'd like to thank foreverHenry919, phnxgrl, superlc529, KenH, and SSTrans for their reviews. foreverHenry919:** I loved writing the Lucas and Henry scene. I think it helps show that Henry is getting more accepting of having friends. **superlc529:** Thank you and condolences to you as well. I'd only heard of situs inversus once before, so doing research on it was an interesting read. I also love giving Abe and Henry scenes. It's kind of hard to do sometimes with how I write. I tend to focus more on the case and forget to include the things that happen in every day life. Trying to remember to do that more with this fanfiction. **KenH:** Thank you. I wish I could tell you more, but that would be spoiling things. Everything will be revealed in time. **SSTrans:** Sorry for the wait. I've seen MMA cases in a couple different shows, but none of the stories went like this. Glad you like it! **This chapter picks up where we left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 40

Gilberto Salvonarola laughed as Jo and Henry approached. "Here we go again. Something bad happens, blame the bookie. Who's saying I did something this time?"

Jo held up a picture from Marta Giuseppe's crime scene with her badge. "This your handiwork?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't do that. I might rough people up occasionally, but I don't kill. You can't get your money back when someone's dead."

"What was your relationship with Ms. Giuseppe?"

"Oh, come on, sweetheart. Let's get some introductions first." Salvonarola grinned at both of them. "I'm Gilberto Salvonarola. You can call me Sal."

"Detective Jo Martinez, not 'sweetheart'."

"Sal" turned to Henry. "Does that make you the good cop?"

"I'm the Medical Examiner, actually. Dr. Henry Morgan."

"Yeah, pleasure and all that crap. Listen, Jo, can I call you Jo?"

"No." Jo held up the picture again. "Did you ask her to take a dive for you?"

Sal laughed. "Wait, you think I killed her for not taking a dive? No, no, no, you're way off. I mean, yeah, I'd asked her to take a dive. To pay off her debt. But I told her she didn't need to on the day of the fight. The odds were against her winning, so I bet she would win. If she did won, I'd make back her debt and then some. She didn't disappoint."

"Wait, so you told her to take a dive and then changed your mind? Why would her coach think you were involved in her death?"

"No idea. I mean, Grayson hates me, sure, but I've never hurt any of his people. He just doesn't like the way I do business."

Jo put the picture away. "Where were you last night?"

Henry chimed in. "Between 9pm and midnight, specifically."

Salvonarola glanced from Jo to Henry. "Lady, in what museum did you find this guy?"

"London Metropolitan, 1800's exhibit. Answer the question; I don't have all day."

"Alright. I was at a bar right by the Garden. It's called Jack Doyle's. Are we done here?"

"Yeah, for now. Don't leave town."

"Where would I go? All the action's here."

Henry fell into step with Jo on their way back to the car. "I take it you have a history with bookmakers?"

Jo nodded. "I just don't like the business. A few cops I knew got in deep with a bookie and ended up losing everything." She opened her door. "I hate how many good lives slimeballs like Gilberto Salvonarola have ruined."

"I'm sorry."

Jo signed as she pulled away from the curb. "Despite my dislike for the man, I don't think he was involved in Marta's death." She handed her phone to Henry. "Call Hanson."

Henry dialed the number and Hanson answered on the second ring. " _Hanson. What'd you get, Jo?_ "

"It's Henry." He turned to Jo. "How do you turn on the speaker phone?"

"Hit the button that looks like sound is coming out of it."

"Ah." He taped the button. "Now you have us both."

Jo launched into the briefing. "Salvonarola claims he rescinded his instructions to Marta. Can you look up the odds for the fight?"

" _Yep._ " Hanson's keyboard clicked as he typed. " _Oh, yeah. If she had taken that dive, he would've have lost a lot of money. It was better to bet she'd win. Odds were against that outcome even though she's considered to be the better fighter._ "

"Who was her opponent?"

" _Ali Kostas. She's had a lot of injuries in the past, so there are rumors that she's getting ready to retire. Says here that she's hoping to do well this year so she can go out on top._ "

"Huh. Where can we find her?"

" _She's training at a gym in SoHo._ " Hanson rattled off the address. " _Do you want backup?_ "

"No, I think we'll be okay. Thanks, Hanson."

* * *

 _ **England 1808…**_

 _Henry blew into his hands to keep them warm. Lectures were finally over for the day and he was headed to the nearby pub to meet up with some friends. Normally his father would insist on him taking the carriage, but Henry didn't want to bother the driver. It was only a short walk after all. He turned down an alley between the hotel and butcher's shop. This was the quickest way to get to the pub. Henry noticed a man standing in the alley smoking and he tipped his hat to the man._

 _The man dropped his cigarette. "Purse and watch, now."_

" _I'm sorry?"_

 _The man stood in front of Henry. "You heard me. Give me your purse and watch now."_

" _Sir, I'm studying to be a physician. I don't carry much and my watch is broken."_

" _You don't look to be wanting. Now hand it over!"_

 _Henry punched the man and was hit from behind. Two men started wailing on him, punching and kicking Henry until he was curled up in a ball in the mud. He was gasping for breath and barely conscious. The men rifled through his pockets, taking the near empty purse and broken pocket watch from him. The watch hit Henry's head when the men took off, cursing their bad luck. Henry wished he'd just listened to his father's request._

* * *

 **Present day…**

Jo and Henry walked into the UFC Gym in SoHo looking for Ali Kostas. She was talking to a man at the back wall and even at this distance, the bruises from the fight were visible. She also seemed to be favoring her right hip and left shoulder. As the pair approached, the man's attention shifted to them and he moved slightly to place himself between his fighter and the approaching pair. He only relaxed slightly when Jo showed him her badge.

"I'm Coach Thornton. What do you guys want?"

Ali grimaced as she set down her bag. "This is about Marta, right?"

"That's right." Jo clipped her badge to her belt again. "You're Ali Kostas, correct?"

"Yeah. How can I help you?"

"We're trying to fill in a timeline of Marta Giuseppe's movements. What can you tell us about that?"

"Her coach would know better than I would. Charles Grayson. I only saw her around the time of the fight. But that's not what you're really asking, is it?"

Jo shook her head. "No."

"I didn't kill her. She won the fight fair and square. In fact, this loss? It gives me a reason to retire early."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's your recurrent rotator cuff injury, isn't it?" Henry gestured to Kostas' left shoulder. "You're favoring it, but there's an habitual nature to it."

"Yeah, you're right. Are you a fan?"

"No, I'm a doctor."

Kostas nodded. "Well, you're right. I was going to be retiring at the end of the season. I'm thinking I'll make the announcement in the next couple of days now."

Thornton was still uncomfortable. "Look, we've got full schedule today. Can we wrap this up?"

Jo nodded. "Okay, where were you both between nine and midnight last night?"

Kostas went first. "I was just getting back to the hotel around nine. I went straight up to my room and ordered a few ice packs for my shoulder from room service. Didn't leave the room after that."

Thornton shrugged. "I went to Walter's Bar and got a drink. Don't know when I left the bar."

"We'll be checking." Jo shook their hands. "Thank you for your time."

Kostas nodded. "Sure."

Jo waited until they were back in the car to call Hanson. "Hey, Mike. We just spoke with Kostas and her trainer. I don't think Kostas is behind it, but her trainer was acting a little shifty. What did you dig up on him?"

" _Not much. Kyle Thornton doesn't have much of a digital footprint, but some of the people who know him say he's got a bad temper. Especially when he gets drunk. Why?_ "

"He admitted that he went to a bar and got a drink. That bar isn't far from the crime scene."

" _You're thinking he might have had a hand in this?_ "

"Maybe. Henry and I are going to check out the bar."

" _I'm headed back to the Garden. A janitor claims to have some information._ "

"Okay. We'll keep you posted."

Henry looked troubled. "Why would Kostas' trainer kill Marta? What does he gain?"

"Marta beat Kostas. Because of that, his fighter is retiring earlier than she would have originally. He's losing his meal ticket, so to speak."

"He should be more concerned with his athlete's health."

"Yes, he should. But that's not always how it works in sports. Trainers and coaches tend to be more concerned with making sure the athlete is out there fighting."

Henry had been watching Jo. "You've experienced this. Personally."

"Not personally. But... yes, I do know what this industry can do to people."

"Who was it?"

"A friend of mine. A long time ago. Back then, MMA wasn't legal in New York, so he went out to Mississippi to fight." She paused. "He never came back."

"What happened?"

"He got hurt. It ended his career. He couldn't take it, so he… uh… he took his life. His trainer was later blamed for his injury, but it was too late by then."

"I'm sorry."

Jo sighed. "I have been a little short with everyone haven't I?"

"I wasn't going to say anything." Henry turned his eyes back to the road.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Listening."

* * *

The bar panned out and Coach Thornton's alibi was proven. Jo had managed to relax when it started to become clear that the MMA scene might not have been involved in Marta's death. The downside was that they now had no suspects. Henry said he would look at the body again and see if there was anything he'd missed the first time around. Which is how he walked into the morgue to see Lucas using a magnifying glass to look at the body Henry was testing him with.

"Lucas?"

Lucas stood up straight. "Look, Doc, I don't know how we can find his name. The rash is caused by an allergy to a common laundry detergent. He could work somewhere that uses that brand, or he used it at home. Other than that, I'm stumped."

Henry walked to the top of the table and grabbed the bag of clothes the man had been wearing. "When in doubt, check his pockets."

"Seriously?" Lucas' shoulders slumped and he held up his hands in frustration. "How was I to know that with what you'd given me?"

"That should always be the first place you look. As it turns out, he was not carrying I.D. so you won't find his name in the bag. But pockets are still a good place to gain a wealth of information. At least it's a good place to start." He set the bag down again.

"How do you know I didn't check there already?"

"The clothes aren't folded the way you do it."

"Oh." Lucas followed Henry into the cool room. "So what are we doing now?"

"We are trying to see if Marta's killer left a clue behind. Help me get the body back into the table."

"Yeah." Lucas helped lift Marta's body to the table. "And when we're done with this, you'll teach me where to look to get the other victim's name?"

"If I did that, how would you learn?" Henry pulled on a pair of gloves. "Learning comes from doing, Lucas. Scalpel please."

* * *

 **A/N: Stay tuned!**


	41. Chapter 41

**Author's note: I'd like to thank superlc529, phnxgrl, foreverHenry 919, and SSTrans for their reviews. superlc529:** I loved writing those lines. Thank you. **foreverHenry919:** Thank you! And Henry's not having the flashbacks for the case. The flashbacks are related to the victim's profession. **SSTrans:** Her backstory went through many changes, but I'm glad with the one I ended up with. **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 41

Jo returned to her desk and started to research the area where Marta had been killed. The question of why Marta was even in the area she'd been found was quickly answered with a glance at the map. Marta had been walking from the Garden to the hotel where she'd been staying. The area wasn't as crime ridden as other places in the city, but there was a fair amount of gang violence in the area. Jo looked into the groups most active in the area and put together a list of the most likely suspects.

She was about to put out a request for those men to be brought in when an officer came up to her desk. "Detective? This woman wants to talk to you."

Jo stood and held out her hand. "Hi. Detective Martinez."

"Amy Quinn."

"Please, sit. How can I help you?"

"I was almost mugged last night."

Jo sat down. "Um, not to be rude, but that's not exactly my department."

"I think it is, because the man who tried to mug me killed the woman who tried to stop him."

"Where was this?"

Amy fidgeted in her chair. "The fighter. Her death is all over the news. She tried to protect me. But that man killed her."

"Wait... Marta Giuseppe stopped the mugger?" Jo held up a photo of Marta.

"Yes, that's her."

"Why didn't you report this earlier?"

Amy looked down. "I was scared. After I got home that night, I barricaded myself inside."

"Were you followed home?"

"I don't know. That's why I locked myself in my apartment and didn't leave again until I decided to come here." Amy looked up at Jo. "Am I in trouble?"

"No. You did the right thing by coming forward."

Amy looked down again. "But she was still alive when I ran away. Did I… did I kill her by not calling for help?"

Jo put her hand over Amy's. "You didn't. The M.E. said Marta's injury was fatal. Even if you had called for help, she would have died either way. You didn't kill her. But you can help us catch the man who did. Can you describe him?"

Amy nodded. "Yes, I can describe him."

* * *

Henry carefully examined the last few bruises. "It looks like every one of her bruises were sustained in the fight." He straightened up. "She wasn't ambushed."

"Well, not the kind that involved a beating." Lucas handed Henry the x-rays. "She does have a lot of deep bruises."

Henry held a film up to the light. "Bruises that are on the bone. This… Mixed Martial Arts stuff is brutal. Why do people subject themselves to this torture?"

"That's not the point of the sport."

"Then what is the point?" Henry set down the x-rays and turned to Lucas.

"I… look, I don't know all the athletes do it, but I've heard it's about control. It's not about beating someone up. The fighters are trying to gain control over their opponents and themselves. But the audience is there to watch two people beat the crap outta each other."

"That just doesn't make much sense."

"Really, Doc? You've never had a situation where you just wanted to punch someone?"

 _ **London 1820…**_

 _The slums were hard to live in. Henry had grown up on his family's estate. Even the home he'd shared with Nora was almost considered to be a mansion. But he was now living in squalor after escaping prison by killing himself. It had been years since that day, but it was hard to rebuild your life when you couldn't even use your own name. He had barely enough food to eat, but he did have a place to sleep and a few belongings in his little hut now._

 _Which a man was emerging from carrying Henry's comb and spare gloves. "Hey! Put that back! Those are mine!"_

" _Finders, keepers, mate." The man turned to leave._

 _Henry grabbed the shoulder of the man's ragged shirt and turned him around again. "There are rules here, sir. If things are in someone's hut, you leave them be. Now give me back my things!"_

 _The man tried to push Henry off him. "Get away from me, you bloody hornswoggler!"_

 _Henry saw red as he drew back his fist and let it fly. One after the other, the punches found their mark. At some point, the man was knocked into the mud, but Henry kept punching until the pain in his hands became too much to ignore. He looked at the man, appalled by what he'd done. The man was still breathing, but his face was covered in blood and he was no longer conscious. Henry snatched his comb and gloves and rushed into his hut. He had to leave this slum now._

 _As he wrapped his hands in dirty bandages, Henry berated himself for his outburst. "I won't do it again. I can't. I must find a way to get out of the gutter. I must rebuild my life."_

 **Present day…**

"Doc?"

"I wonder…" Henry grabbed a pair of forceps and moved to get a better look at the stab wound.

"You wonder what?"

"I wonder if this wound was the ambush. Prep the plaster."

"Yep."

Lucas prepped the plaster and Henry used it in the wound so they would get an accurate view of the wound tract. This would provide them with the knife's shape and trajectory. The knife itself had already been sent to the lab, but dusting it for prints had come back empty. The DNA was running now, but Henry preferred to use that as a means of confirming what the investigation had already uncovered. Hopefully the mold would tell them something important.

Henry carefully extracted the set plaster from the wound. "I was right. The knife didn't enter her body in a straight line."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't move, Lucas." Henry stood in front of his assistant.

"Okay."

"The knife entered her body at an arc. With the situs inversus, the knife penetrated her pericardial sac and caused her to bleed internally." Henry turned his back to Lucas. "The only way that could have happened was if the killer stabbed her while turning." Henry quickly turned around with the mold in his left hand.

"Easy, Doc! This is just pretend."

"The killer is left handed and killed Marta with a single stab wound while turning around. Thank you, Lucas." He handed Lucas the mold and headed for the door.

"No problem, Doc."

* * *

Jo took the picture the sketch artist had made. "This is great, Amy. Thank you."

Amy stood. "So I can go now?"

"Yes." Jo held out her hand. "Thank you for your help. I'll have an officer escort you home." Jo gestured an officer to come in.

"Thanks." Amy left with the officer and Jo returned to her desk.

Hanson walked over when Jo sat down. "Janitor was a bust, but I hear a witness came forward?"

"Yeah, and she helped us create this sketch. I think I arrested him back when I worked Robbery. I just need to look up the name…"

"The killer was left handed." Henry stopped at Jo's desk. "He killed Marta with a quick, clean stroke. Probably didn't even mean to do it."

"Hey, uh, Doc, what are you talking about?"

"I believe Marta was coming to someone's aid. Someone who was being threatened by a knife. The killer turned around, rotating to his right, and the knife entered her body. Because of where Marta was, and because of her situs inversus, the blow was fatal."

"Situs what?"

Jo looked at Hanson. "Her organs are flipped."

"Why can't you just say that?"

Henry ignored the comment. "We are looking for a killer who is left handed, has a history of violent crimes, and is around five feet, ten inches tall."

"Someone like Wilhelm Kurtz?" Jo turned her computer screen to face Henry. "You are right about Marta coming to someone's aid. That someone just came forward. She provided a sketch and I knew him. Arrested him for a B & E."

"Left handed?"

"He is. And he's 5'9". His jacket is full is arrests, too." Jo put her computer back in position. "We were about to have him picked up."

* * *

Wilhelm Kurtz was not happy to be in yet another interrogation room. Most people who came into this room had only been there once or twice; they would often-times look around the room in curiosity. Sometimes hardened criminals were in here. Like Wilhelm, they usually would just sit in the chair glaring at the one-way glass. Jo stood on the other side of the glass and stared back. She had to figure out how to break him, and the same trick wouldn't work twice.

Henry was looking at Wilhelm's gloves. "His leather gloves look old. Like he wears them all the time."

Jo shrugged. "So?"

"So, if he had them on when he killed Marta, they will still have blood on them."

"Where are you going?"

Henry stopped at the door. "I'm getting a blood detection kit. He doesn't look the type to confess to a crime voluntarily. We may need to force his hand."

"Okay, but be quick. When Hanson gets in here, we're going to get started."

Henry smiled. "Won't be a minute."

Ten seconds after Henry left, Hanson walked in. "Are we ready?"

"Henry just left to grab something."

"What for?"

"He thinks Wilhelm's gloves might have some evidence on them." Jo pointed into the room.

"Are we waiting for him?"

"No, let's get started." She opened the door. "Hey there, Wilhelm. Missed me?"

"Detective Jo Martinez. You're in homicide now. Congrats." He looked at Hanson. "Who's the stiff?"

"This is my partner, Detective Hanson."

"Aww, what happened to Detective John? I liked him." Wilhelm grinned. "Did he retire?"

"He did." Jo sat down. "So, what have you been up to, Wilhelm? Staying out of trouble?"

"Of course. Which is why I'm very confused as to why I'm here. Did **you** miss **me**?"

Jo ignored the question. "You are here because a witness came forward and said a man looking an awful lot like you killed Marta Giuseppe."

"They're wrong. I don't kill people."

Henry walked in with a small box. "If that's the case, you won't mind letting me test your gloves for blood residue."

"Who's the pretty boy?"

"I'm Dr. Henry Morgan. I would like to run a simple test on your gloves."

"We can get a court order if we need to, Wilhelm."

The suspect turned to Jo. "That won't be necessary." He looked at Henry again. "Go ahead."

Henry set down the box and then instructed Wilhelm to take off his gloves. Reluctantly, the gloves came off and Henry got to work. He calmly went through the steps starting with the test to diagnose whether the blood was human or not. Henry put on a pair of gloves, opened a sterile swab packaged, put a drop of distilled water on the end, and rolled the swab over the surface of the gloves. He then opened a bottle containing a buffer solution and broke off the tip of the swab into the solution, giving the bottle a shake before putting it off to the side. While the buffer and blood sample mixed, he got started on the Kastle Meyer test to detect the presence of blood. Henry changed his gloves and prepped a second cotton swab with distilled water before rolling the swab over the gloves. He then added a drop of ethyl alcohol to the swab, followed by a drop of phenolphthalein.

Wilhelm looked smug as Henry set the second chemical down. "Nothing happened."

"That is because I wasn't done yet." Henry added a drop of the hydrogen peroxide solution and the cotton swab turned pink. "Positive for blood."

"I work at a butcher shop." Wilhelm was scrambling. "I'm around blood all the time."

Henry shook the vial he'd put aside earlier, and then used a dropper to extract the liquid to add to the test card. After two minutes, he looked at the results. "Human blood."

"What are you talking about?"

Henry displayed the results. "When these two lines appear, it indicates the presence of human blood…"

"Oh, yeah, one of my buddies at work cut himself recently. I helped patch him up."

"There is no indication that these gloves have ever been near animal blood. There would a darker mark on the top line if there was."

Wilhelm's shoulders dropped and he cursed under his breath. "Fine. You got me. I did it. I killed that woman. But it was an accident, I swear. I didn't realize how close she was to me when I turned around."

Jo slid a paper and pen across the table. "Write it down, in detail."

While Wilhelm started to write everything down, Henry gathered up the tests and trash and left the interrogation room. Just outside the door, Lucas was waiting for him. "Lucas?"

"Hey, Doc." He handed Henry a folder. "The decedent's name is Earl Goldstein. Fifty-seven years old and died of acute liver failure."

Henry turned toward the elevators, hiding a smile. "How did you find his name?"

"I took your advice and went through his pockets. No I.D., just like you said, but there was a faded lottery ticket and a receipt for a dry cleaners. The dry cleaners didn't have the matching bill anymore, but I had the crime lab work on the lottery ticket. Once they had a better image, all I had to do was call the state lottery and have them look up who the ticket was registered to."

Henry smiled. "Well done, Lucas. We'll make a proper medical examiner out of you yet."

* * *

Abe set down his wine glass. "So... the guy accidentally killed Marta?"

Jo nodded. "Yep. He says he didn't realize how close she was to him when he turned."

"Situs inversus did the rest." Henry stood to collect the dishes. "If her anatomy had been normal, she probably would have survived. Her career would have been over, but she would have been alive."

"That's horrible." Abe grabbed small plates and set them out. "So what happens now?"

"The D.A. will figure out what to charge him with. He did confess though, so that does make everything easier." Jo thanked Abe when he handed her a slice of chocolate crème pie.

"You're welcome." Abe turned toward Henry. "Hey, Pops. The dishes can wait. Come get your pie."

Henry turned off the water and returned to the table. "Thank you, Abe. This looks delicious."

* * *

 **A/N: I will be out of town for a couple weeks, as well as busy planning my wedding, so I don't believe I will be able to post for the next month. Stay tuned!**


	42. Chapter 42

**Author's note: I must apologize for the long delay in posting. I didn't plan on being away this long. My wedding was fantastic, thank you all for the well wishes, and life is wonderful right now. The delay was caused by a few things: moving into the house my husband owned (packing and unpacking all my things took longer than I thought it would), work was crazy busy with the holidays, and I had major writer's block because I was trying to do research into a subject I knew almost nothing about (chemistry/science and I don't always get along). I changed the scene from a chemistry based one to a subject I know a bit more about and that seems to have done the trick. So again, I apologize for the delay and I'm hopefully back to posting on a more regular basis (even if it isn't this story).**

 **I would like to thank phnxgrl, foreverHenry919, superlc529, SSTrans, KenH, Passerby, DoctorDonna, and a Guest for their reviews. Guest:** I'm glad you found this story and that you think it is awesome. Thank you! **DoctorDonna:** Everything is fine with me, just a little writer's block. I'm curious where I'm going with it too :p **Passerby:** There's lots of stuff to go though in all of your comments, so I'll P.M. you. Thanks for the comments! **KenH:** Thank you! The wedding was a wonderful day and I couldn't be happier with how everything has gone since. I enjoyed writing Lucas' scenes and pie is amazing :) **SSTrans:** This case should be very interesting. **superlc529:** Thank you! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. **foreverHenry919:** Thank you! I love letting Lucas grow. Situs inversus was a very interesting condition to research and I'm glad that the information I learned came across well. **phnxgrl:** The witness was initially hard to write for, so I'm glad you liked how she turned out. **This case starts a few weeks after the last one ended.** **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 42

Chester Hollywealth felt like he had been made for better things than being a garbage man. But times were tough in this economy and he'd had to take on this job just to be able to rent the closet of a bedroom he was living in. But that was the price of trying to become a star on Broadway. And his friend was being too generous with the rent amount; anyone else in the city would be charging triple. Yes, despite the job, Chester was doing pretty well.

He jumped off the back of the truck to grab the cans at the curb. "Two for pickup."

"Okay." The driver stopped the truck.

Chester grabbed the first can and immediately jumped back. "Whoa!"

The driver stuck his head out the window of the truck's cabin. "What's up?"

"Call 911. A man's been murdered."

* * *

"Hey, Doc."

"Good morning, Detective Hanson."

"Not for the vic, I'm afraid." Hanson led the way to the body. "Garbage workers found him while doing the morning route."

"Stabbed and dumped behind the bins. Someone didn't feel too kindly toward the victim." Henry knelt and checked the victim's pockets. "No wallet. That means no I.D. From the condition of his garb, I'd say he was homeless."

"'Garb?' Who uses a word like garb?"

"I do, on very rare occasions." Jo walked up to them.

"Detective." Henry looked up and smiled.

"Henry." Jo smiled and watched Henry get back to work.

Hanson moved to stand next to Jo. "You guys are dating. Why does he still call you 'Detective?'"

"It's kinda his way of saying 'hello.'" Jo turned back to Henry. "Whatcha got for us?"

"He was stabbed five or six times. But not here. There's no blood spatter in the area."

"There's a blood trail." Hanson pointed down the street. "CSU techs are following it. We're hoping to hear back from them soon."

Henry stepped back to look at the scene as a whole. "This feels familiar somehow. I can't place it, but I think I've seen this crime scene before."

"What do you mean, Doc?"

Henry shook his head. "I'm not sure."

Hanson's phone buzzed with an incoming text. "CSU thinks they found the primary crime scene."

"Where?"

"Couple blocks down."

* * *

The primary crime scene was in an alley two blocks away from where the body had been dumped. Here the blood spatter had blended into the bricks of the buildings on either side. This, too, felt familiar to Henry. The buildings were old, turn of the century maybe. Brick like this didn't exist in very many places in the city anymore. Henry looked closely at the spatter. The killer had been standing in front of the victim when he'd been stabbed. There was no way the killer had avoided being covered in blood.

 _ **New York City, 1987…**_

 _Henry Morgan stepped out of the cab clutching his medical bag. He was nervous; this was his first day as a Medical Examiner for the City of New York. The last time he'd done this was just shy of one hundred years ago, on the Jack the Ripper case. He'd dealt with the dead between then and now, but not in this capacity. He wanted to do a good job and help with the case, but this situation was different from last time. This time it was his job to do this._

 _One of the officers at the police tape stopped Henry. "Sorry, sir. No civilians past this point."_

" _I'm the Medical Examiner." Henry showed the officer his I.D. "I'm here to examine the body."_

 _The officer lifted the tape. "Sorry about that. Come on through."_

 _The detectives looked up. "Oh, look. We get the new guy." One turned to Henry. "Ready to waste your time?"_

" _I'm sorry?"_

" _Vic's homeless. The dirtbag who killed him probably is too. This is a waste of time and resources."_

 _Henry set down his bag. "A man has been murdered. No matter how he lived, he deserves justice just like any other."_

" _Look, Doctor, if you want to waste your time and solve it, be our guest. We've got stacks of unsolved cases on our desks. Cases that are more important. This one will get lost in the pile and find its way to the trash. We're only here because we have to be."_

 _Henry scowled, but said nothing. Instead, he turned to the victim. He spent several minutes making notes on the body's position and wounds before he even touched the body for the cursory physical exam as well, making notes the whole time. The victim had been stabbed, but there wasn't a lot of blood in this spot. Henry looked around and noticed a few drops of blood. He stood up and looked beyond the first drops. A few feet away, there were a few more drops._

 _Henry started following the trail. "There's a blood trail here. I'm going to follow it."_

 _The rude detective sighed. "Why?"_

" _Because this isn't where the victim was killed. There's not enough blood here. The crime scene is somewhere else." Henry started walking down the street._

" _Let us know when you're done following dead ends."_

 _Henry shook his head and continued walking. The blood trail never got heavier, but it was consistent. A block or two later, Henry came to an alley between two red brick buildings. He looked at the wall and saw blood spatter adorning the walls. That much blood meant there should be a pool where the victim had collapsed. He noticed a piece of cardboard on the ground. Lifting it, Henry found the blood pool. He set the cardboard back where he found it. Now to tell the detectives…_

 **Present day…**

Lucas followed Henry to his office. "What do you mean this case is familiar? It's a homeless man. He was probably killed by another homeless person."

"We can never assume that." Henry sat down and turned on his computer. "I need to look up something."

Lucas reached over Henry and pulled up the database. "How long ago was the case?"

Henry paused. "I'm not sure."

"Click on the keyword tab then."

Henry clicked on the tab and typed in, "homeless, John Doe, sharp force trauma," before clicking on search.

"Wow, that's a lot of cases." Lucas looked at Henry.

Henry was stunned by the page on the screen. "Five hundred results?"

"And that's just the records that are digitized. Imagine how many it would be if all the NYPD's records were in the database."

Henry leaned back in his chair. "How do I narrow this down?"

Lucas moved the mouse and keyboard toward him. "You'll need to use the advanced search. Tell me about the crime scene."

"The body was left behind some trash cans, the original crime scene was a few blocks away, the blood spatter blended into the bricks…"

"Nothing." Lucas went back a page and sorted the results by date. "The oldest case in here is… 1989. You've only been here, what, eight years?"

Henry paused. "I'm pretty sure I wasn't working here back then. I might have seen the case in the papers."

"Wait, if the case was before 1989, you would have been a kid. Didn't you grow up in England?"

Henry had to think fast. "My father worked with my roommate, Abe. We may have been visiting when the story was in the paper." Henry stood. "We should get started on the autopsy."

"Right behind you."

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

"Okay, I have the traffic footage." Hanson opened the link. "Too bad it was so dark out. It'll be hard to see what happened that night."

"How far back did you go?"

"Twenty-four hours. But we know the victim wasn't dead yet. I talked to one of the shop owners. They took out their trash just before sunset and the body wasn't there yet."

"Well, I hope Henry has better luck getting an I.D., because I am striking out." Jo stood and headed for the break room.

Hanson followed her. "Hey, how are you and Henry doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… it's just, with everything that's happened, are you guys still good?"

She poured herself some coffee. "Yeah… I mean, sure it's been different since Adam kidnapped me, but no, we're good."

"Good, that's good. So, I don't have to worry about the two of you breaking up?"

"No, Hanson, we're good. Does something seem different?"

"No, no, just wondering. You, ah… you just seemed to have recovered pretty easily after… well, after what happened with Adam."

"Well, I've had a good support system."

"I see. Well, if you ever need to talk, just let me know. I'm available if you need me."

Jo smiled. "Thanks, Hanson. I'll keep that in mind."

Lieutenant Reese walked in. "How's the case coming?"

"Slowly. I haven't been able to identify the victim yet. We've got uniforms talking to people in the area. They might find someone who knew him or saw the murder. And we're waiting for Henry's report."

Reese poured some coffee. "What about cameras?"

"The footage just arrived." Hanson grabbed a water bottle. "I was about to get to work on that."

"Good. Keep me posted."

"Copy that."

* * *

 **One hour later...**

"So, how old would you have been when the case you remembered happened?" Lucas took a picture of the body.

Henry quickly did the math. "I believe I was nine or ten."

"What exactly did your father do that brought him to New York?"

Henry thought back to the story he'd told Jo when she'd asked a similar question. "Well, as you know, Abe sells antiques. My father would supply him with pieces from England. He didn't come to the States often, but when he did, he would sometimes take me with him."

"That must have been fun." Lucas took another photo.

"It was." Henry heard a sound. "The computer's done."

Lucas stripped off his gloves. "Let's see. Uh, his fingerprints aren't in the system. Neither is his DNA. We don't have anything to I.D. him with."

"Lucas, what did I teach you last month?"

He sighed. "'Fingerprints and DNA are not the only means of identification.'"

"Exactly. Just because the answer didn't come easily doesn't mean it can't be found. We'll just need to work harder."

"I hear that, it's just… he's homeless. We may not be able to find his name."

Henry nodded. "I know, but I won't just write him off as a nameless, unimportant victim of his life's circumstances. No one deserves that fate."

Lucas nodded. "You're right. So… in a homeless case, where do we start?"

"Why don't we start with… Jo? I'm sorry, we don't have much to report yet. We were about to look for a way to identify him."

"Tell me what you have so far." Jo stopped by the table.

"Cause of death was exsanguination. He bled out, mostly internally, from six stab wounds. Time of death is between 2 and 3am. So far, he's still a John Doe, I'm afraid. Hopefully Lucas and I will be able to find his name soon."

"I'm going to have to ask you to put that on the back burner for now."

"Why? What happened?" Henry was feeling anxious now.

"Grab your coat. We've got another body."

"Similar to this victim?"

"Don't know. I just got the call a couple minutes ago. Hanson's heading to the scene now." Jo turned toward the door.

Henry turned to his assistant. "Lucas…"

"Go, Doc. I'll get started on the search."

"You're sure?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, I got this."

Henry quickly retrieved his coat and scarf. "Let's go."

* * *

 **A/N: For clarification for this and the next few chapters, Henry is not seeing/remembering the flashbacks; that is just for you guys. Stay tuned!**


	43. Chapter 43

**Author's note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, foreverHenry919, SSTrans and superlc529 for their reviews. superlc529:** Not much I can say without giving out spoilers. I am glad to be back though. **SSTrans:** You're welcome. Glad to be back. **foreverHenry919:** Your concern is a valid one, but I have planned for that problem, which I hope will be both an interesting explanation and a plausible one. Keep in mind, though, that the victim from back then was an unnamed homeless man and the detectives were not interested in investigating the case too closely. Plus, Henry was not as involved with the casework back then as he is now. **phnxgrl:** Henry isn't actually remembering the flashback; the flashback is for the audience this time around. You'll see why in a future episode.

 **This chapter picks up where the last one left of. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 43

Camera flashes lit up the alley as they entered the crime scene. The first thing Henry saw were the shoes. Five inch black heels were lying almost ten feet apart, both on their sides. Looking at where the next flash was directed, Henry's attention shifted to the body. An African American woman in a tight, shimmery dress was laying on the pavement, face down. The dress was ripped on the back and a piece of fabric was snagged on the edge of the dumpster to her right.

Hanson was already at the scene. "Hey, Doc. Looks like she came out of the third story window."

Henry crouched next to the body. "Has a purse been found?"

"No, but we haven't been able to get into that room yet. Looks like she's a working girl. We'll have to track down her john. Maybe her pimp, too."

Jo was looking at the broken window. "What are we thinking?"

Hanson started gesturing as he talked. "I'm thinking she was pushed out the window, hit the dumpster on the way down, and landed right there where she died."

"That's not what happened."

"What do you see, Doc?"

Henry pointed to the victim's neck. "There's bruising around her neck. Her skin's pigmentation makes them hard to see. She was strangled before she was thrown from the window." He gently felt her throat. "Her hyoid bone was crushed."

"So, she was dead before she was thrown from the window." Jo looked back up at the window. "I would have said the same thing Hanson said. That's what this scene is supposed to look like."

"That is a possibility, but the bruising negates that." Henry stood up, a troubled look on his face.

Jo noticed Henry's preoccupation and turned to Hanson. "Any updates on when that room will be opened?"

"I'll go check."

Jo walked up to Henry. "This one feels familiar too?"

"Yes, I can't place it though. It feels like a moment from long ago…"

 _ **New York City, 1987…**_

 _Henry stepped out of the back of the cab and headed for the crime scene. He had just gotten some bad news: as promised by the detectives on his first case, nothing was happening with the homeless man's murder. Needless to say, he felt a bit discouraged about heading to this crime scene. A different pair of detectives was waiting for him though, so he'd do his best to provide his aid. He approached the police line with his I.D. out and was waved on through._

" _You the M.E.?"_

 _Henry nodded. "Yes, I am. Dr. Henry Morgan."_

" _Detective Carlin. This is my partner, Detective Lee."_

 _Lee nodded. "How's it going?"_

 _Carlin pointed toward the camera flashes. "The body's over there. Good luck."_

 _Henry headed for the body. A Caucasian woman, scantily dressed, was laying on the pavement near the dumpster. Her shoes were several feet away. Shattered glass was scattered on the pavement around the body. Henry looked up and noticed that the third floor window of the hotel was broken, lining up with where the body landed. Henry knelt by the body to start the physical exam. Small cuts and abrasions were on every bit of exposed skin, but it was the bruising on her neck that drew his attention._

" _What do you have, Doc.?"_

" _She was strangled before she was pushed out the window. She may have even been dead before the fall. Has a purse been found?"_

 _Carlin shrugged. "She's clearly a working girl. She probably didn't carry an I.D. We're thinking her john did it."_

" _I doubt the man who killed her simply wanted sex. If he was a 'john,' he was merely posing as one." Henry took some measurements of the bruising. "A man who normally solicits sex won't kill a prostitute. As soon as he's found out, no other woman in this profession would trust him. Best to always appear to be a new customer."_

" _So, you're sure it's a man, then?"_

" _A large one, too." Henry stood up. "Some of the bruises on her throat suggest his fingers were between half and three quarters of an inch wide. And they're very strong. It takes a lot of force to shatter half-inch thick glass windows."_

 _There was a shout from above. "Detectives! Her purse is up here."_

" _Send it down." Carlin caught it when the officer dropped the purse. "Let's see… her name is Tara Samuels."_

* * *

 **Present day…**

Hanson poked his head out the window. "Jo! Room's open! Come on up!"

Henry followed Jo up to the room, pausing in the doorway. The room looked like a typical hotel room did in the morning. The sheets were rumpled, there was a towel on the floor, and Hanson was going through a woman's purse with gloved hands. Jo was doing a walk through of the room, so Henry followed her lead on the other side of the room. Nothing was jumping out at him, but everything still felt so familiar despite all that.

"Got an I.D." Hanson held it up. "The victim's name is Tara Samuels."

"Tara Samuels?"

"Yeah, Doc, why? Did… you, uh, **know** her?"

"No, it's just… why do I know that name?" Henry thought for a long time and then shook his head. "I can't place it."

"Henry, take a look at this." Jo stood and backed up, pointing at a bloody earring with a gloved hand. "Was the victim missing an earring?"

"No, not that I saw."

"Which means it could be from the killer."

"Could be from a previous tenant. The blood doesn't look fresh." Henry looked at the nightstand and saw an overturned cup. "But it was rehydrated by the contents of this cup."

Jo turned to a CSU tech. "Photograph and bag this area."

"Sure thing."

"Thanks." She stood and turned back to Henry. "How long ago, do you think?"

"I'd have to have the DNA tested to know for sure. Could be anywhere from seven hours ago, to several weeks or months."

"Does this room look like there was a struggle in it?" Hanson was standing in the middle of the room.

Henry looked around the room. "No."

Jo was also looking around. "You would expect it to, though, if she was fighting back."

Henry nodded. "I'll run a full tox profile when I get the body back to the morgue."

* * *

Hanson followed Jo to their desks. "Henry's acting strange."

"Strange how? He's always strange."

"I don't know; he recognized the last two crime scenes, but he can't, or won't, say how. Today he recognized the victim's name, but again, won't say how. I just… I don't like feeling that he's not telling us something."

Jo shook her head. "Henry wouldn't lie to us."

"Remember the dagger?"

"Henry got caught up in the legend. He was just trying to protect me."

"So where is it?"

Jo looked up. "What?"

Hanson leaned against Jo's desk. "I checked evidence last week. The dagger is gone. The clerk said Lucas checked it out. The day we put it there."

"You'd have to ask Lucas about that."

"I do that, and we find out he got it for Henry, both of them will lose their jobs. I don't want to do that."

"Lucas could have borrowed it for one of his films and forgotten to bring it back." Jo sat down. "I'm not saying that's any better…"

"No, it's not. It's worse. That's tampering with evidence."

"Who's tampering with evidence?" Lieutenant Reese had come over for a report.

"Hopefully no one, Lieu." Jo started printing the crime scene photos. "At any rate, it's not connected to this case."

"And how is the case coming? Is it connected to the other one?"

"It's too soon to tell. The lab only just started to process the evidence."

Reese started heading to get office. "Keep me posted."

"Sure thing."

* * *

"Lucas, has the tox report come back yet?"

Lucas shook his head. "No, but the x-rays did." He put them on a light box and turned it on.

"This is about what I suspected. Broken vertebra, fractured ribs and ulna. Parts of her hyoid bone appear to have been turned into dust. The killer was using a lot of force to strangle her."

"Too bad he didn't leave us any prints."

"Which means he was wearing gloves. That's an odd thing to do this time of year." Henry turned back to the body. "If he didn't leave any prints, perhaps he left some sweat behind."

"All swabs came back negative."

"And there is no evidence of sex. The killer was smart not to leave anything behind that would identify him."

Lucas shook his head. "So… what now?"

"Now we look for any evidence that will lead us to the killer. He may not have left any DNA behind, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to find."

"Like…?"

"Like how he killed her. We need to separate the bones broken in the fall from those broken while she was strangled. Look at the x-rays again."

Lucas turned back to the light box. "Well, the broken vertebra between T7 and L2 are probably from the fall, specifically the impact with the dumpster."

Henry prompted him to continue. "Which would…"

"Which would explain the posterior rib fractures, but not the anterior ones." Lucas turned to Henry. "The killer was sitting on her while he strangled her."

"Which means…"

"Which means she would have been struggling, so she can't have been drugged."

Henry nodded. "The killer wanted her to know she was going to die. He wanted to watch her fear and see her die. He's sadistic, and he's done this before."

"Which means we can run a search." Lucas headed for the computer.

"Dr. Morgan?" A lab tech handed Henry a folder.

"The toxicology report, thank you." He opened the folder and quickly read through the contents. "Cocaine particles from the noise swabs, traces of heroine and cocaine in her blood, as well as low levels of aspirin, estrogen and progestin. No barbiturates or tranquilizers. She liked to party, but she wasn't drugged."

"And I have too many matches." Lucas leaned back in his chair. "Why does this kind of crime happen so often?"

"Jack the Ripper is usually thought to be the first known serial killer to target prostitutes and kill them, but it was actually Juan Díaz de Garayo almost two decades earlier who would strangle the prostitutes he hired, though I doubt he was the first person to kill prostitutes. Women in that profession are targeted because they are viewed as easy prey."

"That isn't really… helpful."

Henry chuckled. "No, I suppose not. I simply mean that we are unlikely to find the killer by quickly running a search. What we do is tell the detectives what we found and let them use that information how they will. And we can always update the report when we find new information."

Lucas turned back to the computer. "I'll type it up."

Henry looked at his watch. "Actually, I'll type it up. Why don't you get Ms. Samuels' body in the drawer and head home? It's getting late."

"Are you sure, Doc?"

"Yes. Thank you for your help today, Lucas."

* * *

 **A/N: What is happening? Stay tuned to find out!**


	44. Chapter 44

**Author's note: I'd like to thank KenH, phnxgrl, foreverHenry919, superlc529, and SSTrans for their reviews. KenH:** Henry will realize the connections soon. And thank you for the well wishes. I am pretty happy right now. **SSTrans:** Thanks, I look forward to posting more. **superlc529:** Hanson is getting to be a difficult character to write for. I have him threading the line between figuring it out and being blissfully ignorant; not an easy line to walk. I already know how I want him to find out though, so he won't figure it out for now. **foreverHenry919:** There is something significant to this, and I can't wait to post the reveal. Soon. **phnxgrl:** Henry is not seeing/remembering these flashbacks. They are for the audience only. In this chapter, he will remember a flashback that helps him figure out what is going on, but the flashback in the last chapter was not a memory Henry saw. **T** **his chapter starts with a lot of questions. Enjoy!**

 **As a side note, I'm trying to put together a list of people willing to help me with translation work in various languages. I have people for German and Dutch so far, but I would like to find people for the following languages too: French (Modern and Middle), Italian, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Bulgarian, Scottish (the language, not English with a Scottish accent), Irish (the language, not English with an Irish accent), Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Swedish, Romanian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Latin. I know that's a long list, and I may never actually use all of them, but knowing who to turn to besides Google Translate would be very helpful. Just private message me to let me know which language you are willing to assist with (doesn't have to be on this list either), and I'll put your name on the list. If you are willing to help, thank you!**

* * *

Chapter 44

Henry woke up early the next morning. The last two cases were bugging him. _How were they connected? Were they connected? Why did they seem so familiar?_ The questions swirled in his head as he watched the sky brighten from the quiet of the antique shop. He sipped his morning tea, lost in his thoughts, when a sharp tapping on the store door brought him back to where he was. Jo was standing at the door, waving for him to come out.

Henry unlocked the door and stepped outside. "I'm sorry; how long have you been there?"

"Not long." She shivered in the chilly May morning air. "I've been calling, though. I think your phone is off the hook again."

"Yes, I do that sometimes when I'm trying to think."

"Did you think of anything useful?"

"No, no, just a lot of questions. What's going on?"

"We've got another body." She headed for the car. "Go grab what you need; I'll bring the car around."

* * *

The crime scene was on a campus this time. The Juilliard School was one of the most prestigious colleges in New York. Serving less than a thousand students, it was also one of the most selective. As Jo pulled up, Henry noticed the hazmat truck parked out front. He also noticed that Lucas had just arrived with the M.E. van, as well as Lieutenant Reese. This case must be big. Reese greeted them as they got out of the car, and the group headed for the front doors, though Reese broke off from them before they reached the doors to head off the arriving press.

"Morning Jo, Henry, Lucas. Hazmat still hasn't cleared the scene yet." Hanson gestured towards the inside. "All I know is that the victim is a theater teacher here. The janitor found the body. He's currently headed to the hospital."

Jo tried to look through the windows. "What happened to him?"

"The janitor? He got sick. My guess is the same stuff got the teacher too."

One of the hazmat guys came outside. "You guys can come in, but you'll have to suit up first." He gestured to the mobile station.

Hanson flipped his notebook shut. "Oh, goody. My favorite."

Henry started putting on the hazmat suit. "What kind of contaminants are we protecting ourselves from in there?"

"You're Dr. Morgan?"

"Yes."

"We're thinking mustard gas, or something similar."

Lucas zipped up the front of his coveralls. "Is the room still toxic?"

"That I can confirm. As soon as the tests tell us what type of gas we're dealing with, this building will be properly treated before it can be used again. We'll take care of that after the scene is released."

Everyone finished suiting up and got taped and checked before going inside. Henry hadn't been in a college theater in a long time, but this room looked more like a typical stage on Broadway, just a little smaller. There was a raised stage with wings to the sides and a fly system overhead. Henry couldn't see many of the set pieces hidden there, but there were a couple that looked like stone walls. _Maybe they're doing a Shakespearian piece?_ Facing the stage were seats on risers; a quick glance said a couple hundred people would fit in here.

The body was at the front of the room, on the stage that was raised a few inches off the ground. He was face down, blisters covering his exposed skin. Blood had leaked from his mouth and nose, but Henry couldn't tell from here what the cause was. His eyes were bloodshot, looking like conjunctivitis in some spots. As they got closer, Henry noticed that some of the blisters had a yellowish tint to them.

Henry recognized the symptoms from his service in World War I. "These symptoms are consistent with mustard gas, but it wouldn't kill this quickly. Mustard gas takes days or weeks to be fatal. Lucas, could you collect a sample of the air?"

"Sure." Lucas sounded a little off, but Henry didn't know why.

"Is something wrong?"

"No." He quickly collected the sample. "Got it."

Jo carefully walked around the crime scene. "If it's not mustard gas, what could it be?"

"Some sort of gas that mimics the symptoms maybe?" Hanson shrugged. "I'm sure Henry will be able to tell us soon, right Doc?"

Henry looked at the victim again. This looked familiar too. Wait… Henry realized what was going on. The homeless man who was stabbed and moved; a prostitute named Tara Samuels, strangled and thrown from a third story window; a theater props manager killed by a sabotaged special effects machine. Someone was recreating the first cases he ever investigated as a New York City Medical Examiner. And Lucas was acting weird; had he found the connection last night?

 _ **New York City 1987…**_

 _Henry arrived at Juilliard and was quickly rushed to where he could change into a safety suit. He had no idea what was going on, but it must be important if the detectives weren't berating him as they usually did. He was still very new to this job and the detectives didn't usually treat him the way he might have liked. He put on the safety suit and headed inside. The victim was on the stage, face down and with bruising on his face and arms. A machine was nearby and a thin fog hung in the air._

" _The victim's name was Gary Cooper. He's the props manager for the theater. They're not sure what happened. Others in the crew say he got a face full of smoke from the new prop machine, but he dropped to the floor and started shaking violently almost immediately." The detective pointed at the machine. "Whatever was in there made several other people sick too. They're on their way to the hospital."_

" _Hence the safety suits."_

" _Exactly. We'll let you get to work."_

 **Present day…**

"Doc? You still with us?"

Henry was barely able to think. "I'm just… I think I might know what is happening. I need to confirm something." He stood up and headed outside.

"Henry, wait." Jo followed him outside.

Henry went straight into a decontamination shower. He was panicking. Someone was recreating the first crimes he'd been involved with here. He didn't need to be a betting man to know who. Adam was back. He was trying to reveal Henry's secret again, but this time it was going to be harder to hide the truth. He had to figure something out, but his brain was just not working correctly right now. And his biggest concern was that Lucas had already discovered the truth. If that was the case, Henry was already in trouble.

He quickly got out of the hazmat suit and headed for the front of the school, but Jo caught up to him. "Henry, what's going on?"

Henry looked around. "These last few cases were recreating the first few cases I worked when I became a Medical Examiner here the first time. I think Adam has returned and this is his new game. He's trying to prove that I'm older than I should be. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Jo grabbed Henry's shoulders. "Henry! Slow down. Take a breath." She breathed in and slowly exhaled to demonstrate. "Look, other than your name, is there anything that would prove the Henry Morgan in those cases was you?"

"I…" Henry stopped to think. "I don't know. Perhaps some photographs?"

Jo nodded. "Okay, so how do you want to play it? Family member perhaps?"

"I… wait. Growing up, everyone said I looked like one of my uncles. Perhaps I can say I had an uncle I was named after…"

"Who looks exactly like you?" Jo smiled reassuringly. "See? You sometimes just have to slow down and think."

Henry nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Jo."

"Hey," she punched him lightly on his shoulder, "I'm not just a pretty face."

Henry looked at the car. "Should we go?"

"Yes, let's." They got into the car and Jo started the car. "Of course, we're probably going to need to forge some photos eventually to prove this. Any ideas?"

"Perhaps some old family photographs? I'm sure Abe as a child could pass as me."

Jo shook her head. "No good. Abe was a child in the 50's. The time period in those photographs would be way too far off to work."

Henry fell silent while he thought about what to do. He hadn't needed anyone to falsify photographs before. College degrees, sure, but there were no photos needed for those. The only person he knew who had falsified a photo was Adam, but there was no way he could, or would, call upon that immortal to… wait. What about Anneliese? He didn't know if she had any experience with this, but would it hurt to ask?

"Earth to Henry."

Henry looked at Jo. "I need to use your phone."

She handed it over. "You've had an idea?"

"Maybe." He dialed the number and put the phone to his ear. "I should at least try."

Anneliese picked up on the third ring. " _Events by Stana, Alexis Deverodova speaking. How may I help you?_ "

"Anneliese, its Henry."

" _Henry! What can I do for you?_ "

"Do have any experience forging photographs?"

" _Not personally, but I know a guy who does. Why?_ "

Henry glanced at Jo. "I need to put together a photograph that looks like I'm my Uncle. If that makes sense."

Anneliese laughed. " _I've been my own aunt before, so yes, I understand. I'll get a variety of photos from Abe and have my guy get to work on that. Out of curiosity, what is this for?_ "

"Adam is recreating the first cases I worked in New York. Back in 1987. I…"

" _You need something to prove that you aren't_ _ **you**_ _. 1987 or earlier, okay, I'm on it._ " She hung up.

Henry texted Abe to let him know Anneliese was on her way and would need pictures. "It still amazes me how many contacts she has."

Jo nodded. "I'm surprised she risks exposure like that. Isn't that why you haven't revealed your secret to that many people?"

"It is." Henry handed back the phone. "We need to go to the NYPD archives. That's where the old cases would be kept."

"I know. But let me do the talking. If Adam is recreating your first cases, he probably got the information he needed in person. Especially if the cases were from '87."

* * *

Almost an hour later, they pulled into the nearest parking lot and walked the rest of the way to the facility. Henry had never been here and was surprised that a place this size could exist in such a compacted city, even if it was on the outskirts. It was a massive warehouse with rows upon rows of tall shelves full of evidence boxes. A chain link fence separated them from the warehouse proper, and a desk with a uniformed officer was in front of that.

The officer looked up. "Detectives. How can I help you today?"

Jo showed her badge. "Detective Jo Martinez, this is Dr. Henry Morgan. We're investigating a few cases that we believe are copycats of some old cases."

"Interesting. Which cases?"

"We're not sure what their designations are. Have you seen this man recently?" Jo showed him Adam's picture.

"Yes. Detective Roberts. He asked for copies of some files for a cold case he was investigating." The officer looked at Jo. "Is this picture a mug shot?"

"Yes. That man wasn't a cop. He's a wanted fugitive. When did he come in?"

"About a month ago. I don't understand; he had a valid I.D."

"I'll have someone look into that. In the meantime, I need to know which files he took."

"Of course." The officer did a search on his computer. "Follow me."

* * *

 **A/N: Adam is back! Stay tuned!**


	45. Chapter 45

**Author's note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, lkaplon, superlc529 and SSTrans for their reviews. SSTrans:** Thank you! Adam is still a fun character to use and I hope I can continue to add interesting things to his character going forward. **superlc529:** Good, I'm glad I was able to surprise people. I thought I might be leaving too many breadcrumbs, but I guess not. **lkaplon:** Wow! I'm very impressed that you got through it all in one sitting, and thank you so much for your wonderful comment. I agree that Forever deserved far more than one season (obviously since I'm continuing it), and I'm very glad that my take on the second season has captured your interest. Is the email updating still working? Because it seems to have stopped working for me. If it is, great; if not, I update around midnight my time on Tuesday or Wednesday depending on my work schedule. And thank you for the belated congratulations. **phnxgrl:** Thank you!

 **As a side note, I'm still trying to put together a list of people willing to help me with translation work in various languages. I have people for German and Dutch so far, but I would like to find people for the following languages too: French (Modern and Middle), Italian, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Bulgarian, Scottish (the language, not English with a Scottish accent), Irish (again, the language, not English with an Irish accent), Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Swedish, Romanian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Latin. I know that's a long list, and I may never actually use all of them, but knowing who to turn to besides Google Translate would be very helpful. Just private message (PM) me or leave a comment to let me know which language you are willing to assist with (doesn't have to be on this list either), and I'll put your name on the list. If you are willing to help, thank you!**

 **This chapter starts where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 45

The officer didn't give them just the files, he gave them the evidence boxes too. By the time they got everything back to the precinct, Hanson and Lucas were already back. It looked like Lucas had been telling Hanson something, but he abruptly stopped talking and hurried away when he saw Henry coming. _I was right, he did find something last night, and it has him spooked_. Henry needed those photos fast. Although...

Hanson spotted Henry, Jo, and several uniforms bringing in boxes. "What's all this?"

"This is what happens when Henry has an epiphany." Jo set down her box. "He thinks someone is replicating cases from 1987. And we're pretty sure that person is Adam."

"Wait, what? Hold on, if Adam is involved, we have to kick these cases to the Marshals. They're the ones looking for him."

"We have to find evidence that he is involved first. Hence the evidence boxes. We know he requested and received copies of specific files, but he asked for nine cases in total, and we can't be sure any of them were copied." Jo opened a box.

Hanson was silent for a few moments. "Lucas is starting to believe Adam's delusion. All three cases are copies of cases autopsied by a Doctor Henry Morgan. Now, how do we explain that? And by we, I mean you, Henry."

Henry slowly looked up. "I had an uncle named Henry who was a doctor in New York when I was a kid. I thought he worked for a hospital though, not with the police. But I was young then. I may not have realized what his job really was."

"You followed in your uncle's footsteps?"

"Not intentionally. Like I said, I thought he worked at a hospital."

Hanson was silent again and then he changed the subject, holding out a piece of paper. "These are the cases numbers Lucas found."

Jo took the paper. "We have these cases. Uh…" she looked at the boxes and then pointed, "… this one, this one, and… this one."

Henry opened the box nearest him and dug out the autopsy report. "Victim's name is Gary Cooper. He worked as a props manager at Juilliard."

"Same job as the last victim."

Hanson was looking at the autopsy report from one of the other boxes. "Uh… Henry?"

"What?"

"This looks just like you."

 _Time to be an actor_. "What?"

Hanson gave Henry the photo. "Except for the mustache, that could be you."

"I'd forgotten what he looked like. The last time I saw him, I was eleven. He was killed 5 years later. Hit by a taxi, if I remember correctly."

"Uh-huh." Hanson was giving Henry a strange look, but then he moved on. "So, where do we stand on these cases?"

Jo started repacking her box. "I'd say that photo is proof enough that Adam is recreating these cases. He thinks Henry's uncle is Henry. They have the same name and look alike."

"He is determined to prove that I'm as immortal as he believes himself to be."

"So, it sounds like I should be kicking this case to the U.S. Marshals." Lieutenant Reece had been listening in.

"Looks like." Jo closed her box. "I'll get these evidence boxes returned to the archives."

Henry finished repacking his box too. "I'll make sure the autopsy reports are ready to be sent. The bodies as well, if they want them."

Hanson sighed. "I'll help Jo."

* * *

 _ **New York City 1987…**_

 _Four months. Henry had been a Medical Examiner for four months, but it felt like he'd accomplished nothing. He knew the detectives weren't obligated to give him updates on the cases, but he thought he would have at least read something in the paper. Either nothing had happened in any of the cases, or he was the problem. Maybe being a Medical Examiner was the wrong line of work for him. There were other ways to study death._

 _The detective from the second case he'd worked walked in. "Dr. Morgan, right?"_

 _Henry stood. "Yes, I am. How can I help you, Detective Carlin?"_

 _Carlin smiled, impressed that Henry had remembered his name. "I'd like to thank you for all your good work. Your insights led us right to Tara Samuels' killer. We just got the guilty verdict back from the judge." He stuck out his hand. "I look forward to working with you in the future, Doctor."_

 _Henry smiled and shook the offered hand. "Thank you. I was beginning to wonder if I was actually doing some good here. I'm glad to know that I've made a difference."_

 _Carlin chuckled. "This job is hard, but don't give up on it just yet."_

* * *

 **Present…**

Lucas was a little tense when Henry walked in. "Hey, Doc."

Henry sighed and approached his assistant, making up his mind. "Hanson told me you were starting to believe my stalker's claims of immortality."

Lucas' shoulders slumped "He did? I just…"

Henry interrupted. "I think it's time you knew the truth. You've been a good friend to me for a while now, and I think you've earned my trust."

"Wait, do you mean…?"

Henry nodded. "I am immortal. Adam was not lying. I've tried to hide it for so long…"

Lucas' whole being seemed to tense even more. "I'm sorry, Doc, I just… I'm not… I not sure I'm hearing you correctly."

Henry sat next to Lucas. "I know it's hard to accept; the idea of some people being immortal should be a scientific impossibility, but it is true. I'm living proof of that. And I ask that you continue to keep my secret a secret. Please."

The young doctor was quiet for a while. "How old are you?"

"Frozen at 35 for the past two hundred years."

"Wow. Are there others?"

"Besides 'Adam,' you mean?" Henry nodded. "Yes. I don't know how many, but there is at least one other I know of; though I will be keeping their identity a secret. After all, it is not mine to tell."

"Who else knows about you? Besides 'Adam,' I mean."

"Abraham and Jo." Henry chuckled. "Which means my father was never an antiques supplier for Abe. Most of the antiques Abe sells used to belong to me."

Lucas was quiet for a long time. Henry was beginning to worry; had he been incorrect in thinking that his assistant could be trusted with this? It had taken him so long to tell Jo, and when he did, it felt like he had been about to lose her friendship until she had seen him die for herself. Henry watched the young man's face as he processed the information he'd just been given. _Maybe I was wrong after all_...

Lucas finally laughed. "I guess we now know how the cases seemed familiar to you."

Henry was relieved. "Indeed. They are familiar because I was there. I was the M.E. on them." Henry stood. "I'd love to answer any questions you may have about all of this, but now is not the time or place. We have some work to do; the cases are being handed over to the U.S. Marshal Service. Adam is the suspect."

Lucas hit his own forehead. "Of course! He recreated your old cases thinking it would out you."

"Exactly. We need to prep everything for the transfer. Can you handle the reports?"

"Yep. On it. And Doc? Thanks for telling me. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

* * *

After everything had been handed over to the Marshal Service, Henry and Jo went out on a date. It was nothing special, just a little spot in walking distance from Henry's home, but they both enjoyed the food and ambiance. Everything went well until they were walking back to Henry's home. As they passed an alley, they heard a scream and what sounded like two silenced shots. Jo looked at Henry and drew her weapon.

They crept down the alley toward the sound, Jo in front, ears straining for any more sounds. Silence greeted them. They paused at the corner and then Jo rolled around it. "NYPD!"

Henry peeked around the corner. There wasn't a gunman in sight, but two people were on the ground. It was hard to tell the extent of their injuries from this angle, but they had both been shot. Henry looked at Jo, who nodded. He hurried to the sides of the victims. Both had been shot in the abdomen and both had lost consciousness. He quickly checked the victims' pulses while Jo checked the alley. _Alive, for now at least_.

"Clear." She holstered her gun and pulled out her phone. "I'm going to call it in."

"Jo, I need help. I can't maintain pressure on both."

She knelt by one of the victims. "Tell me what to do and then I'll make the call."

Henry quickly explained what to do, demonstrating with the victim he was helping as he talked. "… You don't want to lessen that pressure or they will lose more blood." He turned back to the man he was helping. "Hang in there."

"I'm going to call it in now."

"Okay."

There was another silenced shot and Jo yelped, pulling out her gun again. "Henry, get down!"

What happened next chilled Henry to the bone. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Jo didn't know where the shot that knocked her phone out of her hand came from, so she hadn't brought her gun up as she stood to find cover, which meant the next three shots caught her unprepared. One hit her gun, knocking it loose in her hand. The next shot hit her in the stomach, causing her body to double in on itself. The last shot hit her in the chest, knocking her backward where she collapsed.

Henry was frozen while he watched. His heartbeat sped up with each shot, almost knocking the wind out of him in the process. As Jo's face twisted in pain with each shot, Henry wanted to rush to her side; wanted to get between her and the shots, anything to take that pain from her. She stumbled as she fell and he wished he could reach out and catch her. He wanted to move, but his muscles refused to twitch. It was as if he was being held in place by unseen forces until she hit the ground.

"Jo!" Henry rushed to her side, ignoring the potential danger he was exposing himself to. "Jo, stay with me!" He looked in the direction the shots had come from, but it looked like the shooter had disappeared.

Even if he couldn't see the shooter, Henry couldn't risk leaving Jo out in the open. He quickly grabbed her under the arms and pulled her to the side of the alley, next to the cover of a dumpster. Jo cried out in pain, a sound so gut-wrenching that if Henry wasn't trying to protect her, he would have stopped to ease her pain. When they got to the wall, he dropped to his knees and cradled her in his arms.

Jo groaned as Henry pulled her into a semi-reclined position, pain etched on her face. "Ah!"

"You're going to be okay." Henry looked for Jo's phone and found it shattered on the pavement.

"Henry, please don't lie to me." She coughed up some blood. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

Henry looked at Jo's injuries. The shot to her stomach was survivable, but she needed to get to a hospital quickly to do so. It was the shot to her chest that worried Henry. It had hit her on the left side. If it had hit her heart, she would already be dead, but it had hit close to it. At the very least she had a collapsed lung, and the bullet could have done so much more damage besides. Without a way to call for help, survival was unlikely.

Jo was watching Henry's face. "I thought so." She grimaced again. "I'm not ready to die."

"I'm sorry." He shook his head. "I wish I could do more."

"I know." She looked up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "What is it like?"

"Dying?"

She nodded. "Tell me."

Henry looked around. "I'm not sure. I've never died all the way. But for me, I see my life flash before my eyes. When I see that, it's like I'm moving through a tunnel. The tunnel is made from my memories. And there's a bright light at the end. The moments I see, they are all very important to me. For a while, those scenes didn't change much, not for a long time. But you're in some of them now. Not many, but you're there."

"Thank you." She tried to smile, but it was clearly forced. "I guess I should have worn my vest."

"We were on a date. You should never need a vest while on a date."

Jo's sad laugh turned into a cough. "Don't forget me."

"I could never forget you." Tears threatened to fall from his eyes, but he held them back to comfort her. "I love you."

Tears spilled from her eyes. "I love you, too." She coughed up more blood and her eyes rolled back in her head.

A few tears fell from his eyes. "I wish we had more time."

Henry felt for her pulse. It was weak and thready, rapidly declining, but still there, as though it was struggling to hold out for just a little longer. He put pressure on her chest wound, hoping someone else had heard the shots and had called the police, but he couldn't hear any sirens, so he couldn't be sure. Henry studied Jo's face as her heartbeat slowed, his own heart racing from the fear fueled adrenaline coursing through his veins. She looked almost peaceful now, but the blood on her chin spoiled the image. He started to sob as her pulse almost disappeared. She was almost gone.

"Jo, don't leave me." He pulled her more upright and kissed her forehead. "Stay with me."

He kissed her forehead again. His heart was aching. The woman he loved was about to die and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Was this how Abigail had felt when she cradled him after he'd been stabbed by her ex? He remembered her calling for help as the spectators had fled, remembered her sobbing into his hair just as he was now sobbing into Jo's. He was sure this was just how she'd felt. His throat constricted, and his sobs were strangled, the cries of a broken man. How he wished he could take her place. He didn't want to lose her now.

Henry leaned down and rested his head on top of Jo's. "Be like me."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry! I was going back and forth between doing this and not, and ended up doing it anyway. The final scene in this chapter was another part of my writer's block. I was trying to do this scene justice. I didn't want it to feel campy or overly clinical. It was hard to write, so I hope I was able to do it justice. Please don't hate me… Stay tuned?**


	46. Epilogue

**Author's note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl, superlc529, lkaplon, foreverHenry919, SSTrans, and KenH for their reviews. KenH:** I guess I need to explain what I meant by "I wanted to do the scene justice" (which means "to do it well" where I'm from); at least I think that's what you were asking. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and thank you so much for the compliment. I really do appreciate it. **SSTrans:** Thank you for the comment. **foreverHenry919:** Thank you for not hating me. Hanson is becoming suspicious, which is what makes that line I spoke of so hard to walk. **lkaplon:** The author was indignant. "I am not a horrible, no good, rotten person..." she paused to think, "well, maybe I am." But seriously, my stories do tend to take slightly darker turns sometimes, so as long as you don't hate me, I can accept it. If you do continue to read my work as it comes out, do get used to those cliffhangers; I like to use them a lot. Hopefully this epilogue will put the pins and needles to rest. **superlc529:** Hanson is buying it, but only just. For me, I think he is more comfortable with believing that immortality is not possible simply because it is easier to believe that one man is delusional. As for handwriting, my handwriting now is very different from what it was just a few years ago (and since I write everything in a notebook first, I do have a lot of samples to reference), so I think Henry's would have changed enough in the last thirty years that Hanson wouldn't automatically recognize it. Plus, they did, at the very least, have typewriters back then. I think official reports would be typed up, not handwritten. The scene where Henry lets Lucas in on his secret was going through changes up to the point it was published, so if it felt rushed or incomplete, I'm sorry. I'm sure it could have been better. Hanson was not nearby; Henry and Jo were on a date, not official police business.

 **This chapter is a very short epilogue so that I don't leave you on a cliffhanger for too long (since I don't know when I will start posting for Season 3). This epilogue picks up right were the last chapter ended. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 46 - Epilogue

"Be like me."

With a sigh almost too soft to be heard, Jo's heart stopped beating. Henry squeezed his eyes shut, grief overcoming him. And then Jo's body was gone. Henry's eyes flew open. No body, no blood; it was like she'd vanished. Henry's sobs turned into a laugh. Relief flooded through him. She was an immortal too. How this had happened, he didn't know, but Henry didn't care. She was still alive and he knew where she'd probably be.

Which he was probably going to see sooner than expected because familiar footsteps were approaching. "That was unexpected."

A loud gunshot echoed in the alley, but Henry didn't live long enough to hear it. The bullet entered the back of his skull and then Henry's face was breaking through the surface of the East River and he sucked in a lungful of cold, refreshing air. With full lungs, he dove down and retrieved two bags from under the nearby buoy, quickly dragging them to the surface and the shore. He needed to find Jo before she was picked up for nudity.

He didn't have to look far as he exited the water. "Jo?"

She was breathing heavily, eyes darting around like a caged animal. Henry could relate; the first time he'd resurfaced alive, he'd been just as confused and scared. She was cowering by the bushes near the shore, her arms and legs wrapped around herself to cover up her body. She was also shivering in the cold, night air. Henry set down the bags and grabbed the towels from each, covering himself with one and holding the other out to her.

"Jo? I know you're scared. I know this is all new to you…"

She looked at him. "What the hell happened?"

"Do you remember how you died?"

She grabbed the towel and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Yes, I remember that. I'm… How…"

"I don't know." Henry moved the bags over to her. "After all my years of immortality, I've never figured out what changed me from a mortal to an immortal, so I can't say what changed you."

Jo's eyes moved to the bags. "Is one of those Anneliese's?"

"Yes. I'm sure she won't mind you borrowing hers until we can get you home."

"I'm too tall."

"You're close enough to the same size. Or I can put the bag back. Your towel ought to cover you enough."

She glared at him. "Jokes? Right now?"

Henry smiled with a sigh. "Just get dressed. You can't afford a public indecency charge, detective. Trust me. We'll talk about everything later."

He turned his back to give her privacy and quickly dried off, still elated that she was alive. It was like the pain of the last several minutes had been lifted from him. He felt light and free. If Jo wasn't so terrified right now, he would laugh for joy. He quickly got dressed, glancing back when he was nearly done to make sure Jo was doing to same. She was nearly dressed now too, the towel wrapped around her hair.

She caught him looking. "I thought you were always going to be a gentleman with me."

"Jokes, detective?" He grinned. "I was making sure you weren't still in complete shock."

"I should be." They both ducked down as a pair of headlights washed over them.

The car came to a stop and a door opened. "Henry? Are you there?"

Henry straightened up. "Abe? How…?"

"I heard a gunshot and went to investigate before I called the cops."

"Abraham!"

"I know, I know. When I saw your pocket watch, I realized you'd been there too. Was Jo injured when you were killed? Because I found a gun that looks like hers in the alley too." He noticed the toweled head next to his father. "Is Anneliese with you?"

"No." Jo stood up. "Surprise."

"Wait, you're immortal? How long have…"

"Just a few minutes ago."

Henry gathered up the bags. "We'll talk in the car."

* * *

 **A/N: I know this choice will be a bit dividing to many of my fans, but I promise this is not just to give Henry a "soulmate" that is immortal too. I can see this story choice providing both a potential ease to their relationship as well as some complications. Henry is not the only one affected by this change, so I think that will be a fun, and hard, thing to write. Just give me a chance to convince you before you write this story off. **Thank you all for** **reading! I hope you all have enjoyed my take on Forever Season 2. Stay tuned for Season 3!****

 **P.S. Going forward, I think I would like to be three or four episodes ahead on my computer before I start posting (at the very least) which will limit the number of long breaks between posts, but that will take a little while to write and type up. Sooo... I might not get started with posting Forever Season 3 until late this year or early next year. Part of that is because of work; I'm getting more hours now, which cuts into my writing time. Another reason is that I'm trying to be a better organized writer so I don't have to scrap as much stuff (I've had to delete whole chapters before) and so I can hopefully stay on track better. The last reason is that I've got two other stories competing for my attention right now (one is a continuation of a story I've done before and the other is about a TV series I found a couple years ago)** **, so I'm trying to get the "loudest" scenes from both of those out of my head enough that I can focus on Season 3.**

 **P.P.S. I'm still trying to put together a list of people willing to help me with translation work in various languages. I have people for German, Dutch, and Spanish so far, but I would like to find people for the following languages too: French (Modern and Middle), Italian, Greek, Russian, Polish, Bulgarian, Scottish (the language, not English with a Scottish accent), Irish (again, the language, not English with an Irish accent), Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Swedish, Romanian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Latin. I know that's a long list, and I may never actually use all of them, but knowing who to turn to besides Google Translate would be very helpful. Just private message (PM) me or leave a comment to let me know which language you are willing to assist with (doesn't have to be on this list either), and I'll put your name on my list. If you are willing to help, thank you!**


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